Bleach with a New Kurosaki: Rewrite
by DMGmana
Summary: What if the Kurosaki family had another daughter a year after Ichigo with the same ability to see ghosts? A retelling of the Bleach series with mature scenes along with an OC. Will not shift far from canon events. A rewriting of the previous version of the same title.
1. Biography

**Author's Note: I'm back, everybody! DMGmana here, finally kicking off the rewrite of Bleach With a New Kurosaki! Seriously, with easily overheating laptops, lost data and getting my lower spinal nerves damaged, it's extremely hard to get this down and out. Now that I'm healed enough to get back to work and use their PC for this while my laptop is undergoing repairs, hopefully any future updates will not take so horrendously long anymore.**

**For now though, please enjoy the biography of my original character. This has been filled with all the information up to the point where I stopped with the first version of this story. Those who have read it will already know how far I went. For new readers, please wait for the rewrite because there will be changes, big and small!**

**...Unless you want to take a peek at my first try at fanfiction and judge if I'm worthy of your reading time. For those who have issues with the previous version, hopefully now it won't have them and if it still does, hopefully it won't be so glaring.**

**When I decide it's time to give my character a new ability and any changes need to be made to what is already here, you'll see this at the very start of the chapter they take place in:**

*****BIOGRAPHY UPDATED!*****

**Some people told me to put down a disclaimer and I honestly don't see why, but I'll do it anyway just to appease them.**

**Disclaimer: Bleach will never belong to me. Only my OC does! I'm not putting this down again in future chapters.**

*****Break Line*****

Biography

Name: Kurosaki Rika

Age: 14

Occupation: High School Student (skipped a year to follow Ichigo at his request), Substitute Shinigami (they share the badge), Kurosaki Clinic Nurse

Relationships: Kurosaki Isshin (Father), Kurosaki Masaki (Mother, deceased), Kurosaki Ichigo/Hollow Ichigo (Older brother), Kurosaki Karin & Kurosaki Yuzu (Younger twin sisters)

Appearance: She has straight chestnut brown hair that goes just past her shoulders and her eyes are the same shade of brown as Ichigo. Her bust size is half a cup bigger than Tatsuki. Being rather self-conscious, she prefers wearing baggy t-shirts and skirts that reach her knees to avoid emphasizing her developing figure.

History: When she was young, she was just like Ichigo in considering their mother to be the very center of their world, always smiling whenever Masaki was with them and regularly holding her hands. When their twin sisters were born, Ichigo as per his namesake, attended a karate dojo for the sake of protecting them. Rika took it upon herself to be the best big sister she could be, learning everything she could from their mother.

Upon their mother's death, Rika did everything in her power to replace whatever that had been lost. She took over all her mother's domestic duties and cared for her infant sisters, with Yuzu greatly lessening that burden when she grew old enough to help with the chores. As a result of being the pseudo mother figure for the twins, she grew up to be a kind and compassionate individual just like Masaki. At the same time, due to how gruesome her mother's corpse had been, Rika had developed a sub-conscious hatred for violence and became a pacifist. If an argument happened to involve her, she would always submit and be the first to back down to avoid violence.

For a very brief period of time, she actually hated Ichigo when he fought back against the local student gangs who tried picking on him because of his bright orange hair. It was not until those gangs attempted to assault her right in front of Ichigo that the hatred for violence disappeared. Since that harrowing experience, she apologized profusely to him for refusing to accept the fact that he had to fight to protect. Ichigo was also affected from that experience, appealing to their father to allow her to graduate with him so he could protect her. He knew his name automatically tarnished Rika's clean image and he correctly predicted that the moment he graduated from Junior High, the younger gangsters would immediately try to go after her to get to him.

Personality: Compared to Ichigo's outspoken, hot-headed and dominant personality, Rika is rather shy, polite and submissive, with a strong affection for children. She shares Ichigo's extreme discomfort around scantily clad people no thanks to their father. Isshin had found it prudent to be as detailed and graphic as possible when he gave them the talk about the birds and the bees the day her first period occurred.

When fighting as a Shinigami is involved, Rika largely prefers a defensive stance due to her pacifistic nature. Unless an offensive charge is the best or the only course of action to take, she will mostly stand back and wait for the fight to be brought to her. Being a non-combatant until she gained her Shinigami powers, she does not understand what it means to fight with pride. She finds it difficult to understand why Ichigo constantly strives to win his fights in what he believes to be a legitimate manner, even if he can lose his life fighting to that end. She is aware of her own inexperience when it comes to fighting and constantly strives to improve herself, but she has self-esteem issues when it comes to just how much she has grown. She gets depressed, sometimes severely, when she believes she has made very little to no progress.

She also shares Ichigo's despise for those who hold no regard for their allies. They are both disgusted when an individual berates their own allies, and they express anger to those who would go so far as to attack their own allies. The only individual that they cannot agree on whether to consider an enemy or an ally is Hollow Ichigo. Ichigo considers him an enemy he is forced to live with while Rika considers him an ally for saving their lives even if it was only by extension from him acting to save his own.

*****Break Line*****

Powers & Abilities

Natural Abilities:

Enhanced Reflexes: Soon after figuring out her own rhythm to fighting, her haphazard movements quickly improved themselves to flow smoothly without any awkward jerks and pauses. When fighting on the defensive, her reflexes are at their peak, able to quickly dodge or parry a strike with no wasted effort and can easily open up an avenue for a counter-attack if her opponent is not wary. Her reflexes on defense allow her to focus on analyzing her opponent's movements and better defend herself against difficult and otherwise fatal strikes.

Fast Growth Rate: Rika's own growth rate is far from being comparable to Ichigo's own but it is noticeable. While Ichigo grows massively in power and less in skill, Rika is the exact opposite. Among the other skills they both share, Rika is more proficient in the techniques requiring more delicate control of their spiritual power although she takes longer to grasp the basics because she doesn't learn them through sheer instinct like Ichigo.

Keen Intellect: After her Shinigami training with Urahara, Rika's analyzing and deduction skills have improved although she lacks the experience needed to make full use of the gained information. She has always been perceptive even before becoming a Shinigami, catching hints and hidden meanings easily. In battle, she is able to adapt quickly to her opponent's battle methods and find a way to defend herself and create an opening.

Shinigami Abilities:

Expert Swordsman: In terms of fighting style while in her Shinigami form, Rika relies mainly on swordplay. Aside from her training with Urahara, she is also with Ichigo on his 'learn as you go' training regimen, becoming more capable with each fight. However, that growth applies mostly for her defensive swordplay. In terms of overall skill, she is not developing as fast as Ichigo. According to Hollow Ichigo, she has grown skilled enough to outmatch Ichigo at his full power if restricted to only using his Shikai.

Shunpo Expert: Although not versed in its various techniques, Rika is proficient enough in the technique to keep up with faster moving opponents. She is more proficient in this technique than Ichigo, with her speed being in between the speeds of his Shikai and Bankai's Shunpo.

High Spiritual Power: Her spiritual power can be compared with the Lieutenants, just like Ichigo's spiritual power can be compared to Captains. With the help of her Zanpakutou however, her spiritual power at its aided maximum surpasses even Ichigo but only for a very short period of time. After training with Urahara, she has learned to harden it to enhance her physical strength to better cope with more physically capable opponents. Her reiatsu is white outlined with a very light tinge of blue that is nearly unnoticeable.

Internal Harmony: Since entering her inner world to speak with her Zanpakutou spirit, her connection to her inner world is very strongly established. The connection is strong enough to allow her to listen to the spirit's voice without any need to focus on either side, although she can block it off if needed. This connection later grew strong enough that she is able to enter her inner world without need with Jinzen. According to Urahara, her connection to her Zanpakutou is one of the strongest he has seen.

Zanpakutou

Name: Yukianesa (Snow Woman)

Sealed: A standard-looking katana with a brown guard looking vaguely like a cat's face. The hilt is a typical black.

Shikai: The katana doesn't change in shape at all, but the silver blade turns snowy white. The brown guard turns to a light gray and the black hilt turns white. Attached to the base of the hilt are two white bells resembling two felted balls.

Shikai Special Abilities: The most prominent among Yukianesa's various abilities is the ability to absorb a portion of reiatsu from any attack and store it in the Zanpakutou. The only requirement needed for this ability to work is physical contact with the target regardless if it is a successful hit or not. Yukianesa gives the absorbed reiatsu to Rika whenever she uses any. The maximum amount that can be stored at a single time is twice of Rika's maximum reiatsu. How much is absorbed is dependent on how much reiatsu the target is using at the time of physical contact. The higher the usage, the more reiatsu is absorbed per contact. This absorption ability fully compliments Rika's fighting style, making her a bigger threat the longer a fight drags out. As long as she correctly manages how she expends the absorbed reiatsu, she has practically infinite amounts of it to use and is almost constantly fighting at full power without weakening over time. There is a drawback for this ability however. If Rika overuses her reiatsu with a lack of absorption, she will be weakened at an alarming rate unless she can manage to absorb enough reiatsu to refill her reserves and restore her stamina. She can be so severely weakened by this side-effect that her own life can be in jeopardy if she is extremely reckless.

Yukianesa is also an Ice-Type Zanpakutou with minor illusion abilities, allowing Rika to perform ice attacks and illusions of a reflective nature. Yukianesa is able make use of vapor in the atmosphere to form its ice although this feature is virtually unneeded. It can reform water, snow and ice of other origins into said vapor as additional sources. Due to that, its ice is pure white in color rather then the normal blue/light blue. Because of the manner of its ice formation, Yukianesa cannot produce as much ice as one would expect from an elementally aligned Zanpakutou. In exchange for the lack of quantity, the quality of its freezing ability is extremely high.

Minor Shikai Abilities

**Reitou** (Frost Bite): The simplest ability out of Yukianesa currently known repertoire, and the most basic. It is an icicle shot that does not pierce the target despite its shape and seemingly sharp point. It is also extremely weak to the spiritual senses. Its perceived weakness is actually misdirection. When contact is made, the icicle will burst, rapidly freezing the area of impact and causing sharp stinging pain. The main use for this ability is for distraction, doing no real damage. Each individual shot eats up 5% of Rika's reiatsu.

**Hyouka **(Ice Flower): This ability reinforces Yukianesa's cutting edge, making it sharper and enabling Rika to spray diamond dust from the tip of her blade for a short period of time. Similar to the Reitou, the diamond dust is mainly for distraction as it does no real damage. However, this ability is much more versatile and can be used to bolster her attacking power. Each activation eats up 20% of Rika's reiatsu.

**Sekka no Houyou **(Snow Flower's Embrace): This ability is for healing. For each injury, Rika can expend her reiatsu to heal herself. However, this ability cannot completely heal any injury, not even a tiny scratch. No matter how light or severe the injury, as long as Rika has the reiatsu to spare, she can heal herself up to a certain limit proportionate to the injury. What that limit is known only to Yukianesa, so it will notify Rika once that limit of healing has been reached. While this ability is being used, Yukianesa's absorption is stopped so Rika is unable to heal and fight at the same time. The amount of reiatsu consumed by this technique is proportionate to how serious the injury is.

Major Shikai Abilities

**Koori no Ame **(Rain of Ice): This ability fires countless small icicles that explode into ice crystals whenever it makes contact with anything. This ability is not just a straightforward attack as Rika can think up several methods to make use of the ice crystals that are left behind from missed icicles. This ability eats up 100% of Rika's reiatsu.

**Fuyu no Kata - Yukikaze **(Winter Stance - Snowstorm): This ability is a two-part sequence that requires an opponent to strike Rika first. At her command, a cocoon of ice will surround her in an instant. The protective cocoon will last for only a second but if any physical contact is made with it, the offending weapon and/or limb will be completely frozen right down to the nerves. Once the opponent is trapped, Rika gathers her reiatsu into Yukianesa to deliver a powerful slash. This two-part sequence eats up 100% of Rika's reiatsu, 50% for each part. Rika can abandon the second part if she chooses to do so.

**Fubuki no Koromo **(Blizzard's Shroud): This ability can only be used if Rika manages to store up twice the amount of her maximum reiatsu in Yukianesa. Once ready, Yukianesa will start releasing its reiatsu for 90 seconds to make room for future absorption. That is this ability's preparatory phase. During the 90 seconds, Rika can expend her reiatsu without limit, being able to use her minor abilities in rapid succession without cost. She can only use her major abilities twice in rapid succession as each one will eat up 45 seconds or part thereof if less than that time is left remaining. If Rika chooses not to fully activate this ability, Yukianesa will be ready for more absorption while retaining the same amount of her maximum reiatsu, requiring less effort to re-enter the preparatory phase again.

If she chooses to fully activate this ability, her reiatsu will be tripled, taking in all the reiatsu stored in Yukianesa. The remaining time of the preparatory phase is cut in half the moment she fully activates this ability. While fully active, Rika gains a huge increase of strength and speed and her abilities are powered up accordingly, with only one shot of her major abilities compared to two while in the preparatory phase. As the name of this ability implies, when fully activated, a reiatsu 'shroud' will surround her for as long as it is active. Rika can unwittingly freeze the immediate area with the sheer coldness of her boosted reiatsu. Once the ability runs out, Yukianesa is drained of all reiatsu compared to having some still retained. To put it simply:

Rika's maximum reiatsu - 100%

Yukianesa's maximum storage capacity when Fubuki no Koromo is ready - 200%

If Fubuki no Koromo is not fully activated - 100% retained in Yukianesa

If Fubuki no Koromo is fully activated - No reiatsu retained

*****Break Line*****

Other Abilities

False Hollowfication

Origin: From a seemingly innocent gesture of finding and keeping one of Ichigo's discarded Hollow masks before his Vizored training, a small remnant of Hollow Ichigo hangs around in Rika's inner world. This small piece of him is completely void of Zangetsu's influence, only having Hollow Ichigo's form, his questionable sanity and his greatly limited Hollow powers. She freely allows him to stay in her inner world while he provides her with his Hollow powers without need for any subjugation. Because he is just a piece, he does not cause any trouble in her inner world and freely admits he cannot defeat Yukianesa if he tried. Even then, that doesn't mean Rika gets his power for free...

Hollow Mask: Rika's Hollow mask is an exact duplicate of Ichigo's own when it first appears on Ichigo's being. As Ichigo's mask evolves and changes in design, so does her own. It is only after Ichigo defeats his inner Hollow that differences start to be seen. While the number of red stripes on the left side of the mask remains the same for both, the stripes on Rika's mask are not as thick as Ichigo's own.

To gain access to her portion of Hollow Ichigo's power, she merely has to place the mask on her face where it attaches firmly on its own. With the mask in place, her eyes turn yellow and her sclera turns black, and her voice gains a slight Hollow echo to it. While she does not gain all the benefits that Ichigo does, such as Hollow Ichigo's battle instincts, she makes up for it by attempting to learn the general abilities of Hollows.

Because the source of her Hollow powers are not from her own being, she is unable to summon the mask and has to carry it around as a physical object. Her Hollow mask acts as a rechargeable battery that stores the Hollow reiatsu Ichigo constantly gives out when he is in Bankai and/or utilizes his own mask.

Power Augmentation: While wearing the mask, Hollow Ichigo's powers supplements Rika's Shinigami powers, giving her a vast increase in power, speed, durability and spiritual power. While Hollowfied, her white reiatsu gains a reddish tint while the outline remains the same light blue. Wearing the mask also gives her the ability to use the Hyougetsu Kuushou.

**Hyougetsu Kuushou** (Ice Moon Sky Piercer): This ability is basically a weaker but faster version of Getsuga Tenshou. It can only be used while Rika is Hollowfied as this ability does not belong to Yukianesa nor is it a modification of one of its own abilities. Instead, this is done by Hollow Ichigo guiding Rika with his own knowledge of the Getsuga Tenshou. In exchange for power, it is significantly faster than its counterpart. While Getsuga Tenshou leaves behind burns on an enemy, this technique freezes whatever surface it makes contact with and explodes into a cloud of cold mist rather than a cloud of smoke. It is cold enough that the energy wave leaves behind a trail of ice to mark its path on any part of the surroundings that are too close. This ability eats up 100% of Rika's reiatsu.

Emergency Reiatsu Supply: Should Rika overspend her reiatsu using her techniques, she can convert the Hollow reiatsu stored in her mask into her own to avoid the side-effects of her Shikai.

Long Mask Duration: When her mask is fully charged, Rika can remain Hollowfied for a maximum of five minutes if she avoids overspending her reiatsu. While her mask is no less powerful than Ichigo's own, this long duration is due to her consuming the power slower because her own spiritual power is less than his.

*****Break Line*****

Zanpakutou Spirit

Yukianesa's spirit takes on the form of a prepubescent human girl, looking about the age of 10 to 12. She resembles an albino with a slightly pale skin complexion and light grey hair. Her hair reaches down to the middle of her back with a large white bow hanging at the back of her head. Her eyes are red in color and in place of pupils there are slits. Her ears are more pointed, looking more triangular than the normal half-circle.

Her clothes consist of a large white coat over a grey dress. Her white coat is buttoned at the top and is left to hang freely halfway down, not hiding the long grey skirt that goes past her knees. The sleeve collars of her coat are the same grey as her dress. She wears a small white cape over her collar that can be expanded to various sizes at her will. Tied at both ends of the cape are two white bells that resemble felted balls. To complete her look, she wears thigh-high white stockings and simple white shoes.

Yukianesa's personality is that of a haughty playful princess. She is very proud of herself, enjoys anything she considers a game, and has a natural dislike for anyone other than Rika herself. She speaks rather casually to Rika, but uses a polite and formal manner of speech when addressing others. However she makes it perfectly clear that she's speaking that way only to mock them, and she can hurl insults while sounding exactly like a prim and proper lady. When it comes to fighting, her comments may sound ruthless on occasions. When she was under Muramasa's influence, it is revealed that she has no regard for the lives of others except for her own and Rika. Rika's family is no exception. Her innermost instinct is be the one Rika loves the most, which fuels her to kill Ichigo, the one person Rika holds in the highest regard. Even under normal circumstances, she still utterly detests Ichigo as she feels he does not show his Zanpakutou 'proper' respect even if Zangetsu himself is willing to forgive.

Because of her child-like image and Rika's affection for children, she sometimes gets treated more like a little girl than a proper Zanpakutou spirit. She allows Rika to get away with it though, since she greatly enjoys being pampered despite her numerous claims that she is a Zanpakutou spirit and not a mere little girl. Although she generally behaves in a manner befitting a princess, she is rather childish, and prone to tantrums when she feels Rika has embarrassed or angered her in some way. Ironically, she can act the part of a cute innocent little girl perfectly, if only to get things done her way.

Although she looks almost exactly human, Yukianesa's form is actually that of a succubus. True to their lore in the Real World, Yukianesa is very knowledgeable about matters of a sexual nature. She uses this knowledge to tease Rika mercilessly with sexual innuendo when she's up for some fun at her Shinigami's expense. Since Rika caves in to Yukianesa's demands most of the time due to her affection for children and her own submissive nature, she always ends up successfully making Rika's face burn red with shame, humiliation and utter embarrassment, even making her faint at one point. To Rika's unbridled horror, Yukianesa has proudly announced that she is bisexual. Although she never says it out loud or make any mention of it, she does have a strong desire to have sexual interactions with Rika. It is not because she is a succubus that she wants this, but because she genuinely loves Rika.

Despite all her antics, Yukianesa does take her role as a Zanpakutou seriously. She is pleased that Rika always strives to improve herself and often encourages her on. On the other hand, she feels gravely insulted whenever Rika would attempt to duplicate Ichigo's fighting methods in any way because she was not meant to be wielded the same way as Zangetsu. She does not sympathize with Rika's zero experience in fighting, even refusing to teach her the basics of zanjutsu. She does this in an effort to let her grow into her own form. She is worried about Rika's somewhat blind acceptance of Hollow Ichigo as a brother due to his motives involving her. She nonetheless tolerates his presence, notably more than she does for Ichigo, because he does take particularly good care of her even when mindless and driven solely by instinct.

*****Break Line*****

Power & Abilities

Natural Abilities

Expert Swordsman: Because of her tendency to enjoy herself and have fun, Yukianesa's swordsmanship hardly has a definitive pattern to it. If anything, it is a mix of devilish mischief and grace. She is mischievous enough to employ cheap tactics to gain advantage, yet at the same time graceful enough to be swift and fluid with no wasted motion. Still, her swordsmanship is great enough to get several clean hits against her master Rika, who specializes in defensive fighting, while she is on defense.

Enhanced Speed: Yukianesa has shown impressive speed, easily matching speeds with the likes of Shunpo experts such as Rika with her Hollow mask on. She is quick enough to befuddle her opponent in combat and coupled with her unique style of dodging blows, she can be quite difficult to keep up with for even a master swordsman of Ichigo's caliber.

High Spiritual Power: With a simple release of her reiatsu, Yukianesa is able to reduce the temperature around her, causing freezing winds to blow from her. If Fubuki no Koromo is activated, her reiatsu is so powerful a simple release will freeze her entire surroundings, turning it into a frozen wasteland.

Shikai Special Abilities: With the exception of Hyougetsu Kuushou, Yukianesa already knows everything Rika knows. The only difference between the two of them is how they apply the abilities to the situation. Being the source of Rika's powers, she has much more mastery over the abilities and is unaffected by the negative side-effect Rika suffers from. She is able to activate Fubuki no Koromo at will as well without any need to enter the preparatory phase.

*****Break Line*****

Other Abilities

Self-Materialization: Yukianesa is able to materialize herself in the outside world whenever she pleases, though her own spiritual power is quickly depleted when doing so.

Spiritual Power Transformation: Yukianesa can freely transform the spiritual power she takes from Rika into anything food-related and if needed, eating utensils. Due to her extreme sweet tooth, she usually transforms the spiritual power into sweet treats and pastries, preferably cold ones. Her sweet tooth came to be because Rika's spiritual power has a sweet flavor to it, something she claims to be unique. According to her own claim, spiritual power is supposed to be tasteless regardless of who or what it belongs to. She claims to know this because whenever she absorbs reiatsu, she is essentially 'eating' it.

Ice Illusion: Yukianesa can seemingly disperse herself into diamond dust which reflect several images of herself before appearing elsewhere. She hints at this being one of the Shikai abilities Rika can learn, but has not revealed the formal name for it yet.

Ice Generation: Yukianesa is able to generate cold and ice with simple gestures, such as blowing on water to turn it freezing cold and freezing something solid by merely touching it. She is capable of producing an ice shield larger than herself by simply holding her open hand up.

Cosmetic Transformation: For reasons unknown, Yukianesa possesses the ability to change her default set of clothes into any other clothes, including being in the nude. She is also able to change her default hairstyle into anything she wishes, including having her hair untied. She mainly uses this ability to tease Rika with provocative clothing and gestures.


	2. New Beginnings

**Author's Note: The official Chapter One is up! Actually it's just my first two chapters from the previous version combined with minor changes. Honestly though, I really didn't want to go through Inoue's, Sado's and Kon's introductions. Don't get me wrong. They're cool and all but they had the least impact, to me at least, when they first showed up. That's _before_ Inoue and Sado got their powers, in case you missed it. In Kon's case, he's more like a comic character that has to be there to cover Ichigo's absences. They only served as checkpoints to show us Ichigo's initial growth as a Shinigami. That's why I just want to get it over with.**

*****Break Line*****

Rika had gone shopping for the night to restock the household supplies only to find the wall of her home had a huge hole in it, her two younger sisters unconscious in the front yard, and her older brother dressed in a black kimono with a giant sword in his hands.

"Nii-san, what…?" Rika was lost for words as she stared at her brother. She then took notice of the injured petite girl leaning against an undamaged section of the wall.

"Rika, I'm glad you're safe," Ichigo sighed in relief and sheathed his sword.

"What happened here? What happened to you?" she asked.

"She'll explain everything to you," he jutted his thumb over to the girl, or rather where she used to be. "She ran off! That little…" he grumbled under his breath. "Yuzu and Karin are alright. As for dad, he's probably still asleep."

"Okay… But what about the damages to our house?" she continued. "Who did all this?" Her brother fell silent at that. She looked at her brother's new attire and weapon and discerned that something was off. "It isn't who, is it nii-san? What did this?" she corrected her sentence.

"It was a monster known as a Hollow," her brother finally answered with a heavy tone.

"…You don't mean that monster with the white mask that was rampaging earlier today, do you?" Rika was shocked.

"You were there?" Ichigo was alarmed for a moment before relaxing. "Well, at least you aren't hurt. Yeah, it was something like that." A few seconds of silence passed between the siblings as they stared at their destroyed wall. "Nothing we can do here. Let's catch some sleep. Dad will do something about it tomorrow," he suggested. Rika silently nodded and followed her brother back in the house.

*****Break Line*****

The next morning, both of the older siblings were stunned when their younger siblings and their father said the hole in the wall was caused by a truck. They passed each other confused stares but wisely chose not to say anything and simply head off to school. Fate was not done with them yet as the girl from yesterday had somehow transferred into their class. When recess bell rang, she dragged him to the rooftop to discuss private matters concerning her 'stolen' powers when Rika was distracted.

The girl pulled out a red glove with a flaming skull emblazoned on it when they started arguing over certain issues. She slammed her gloved hand into his chin and Ichigo split into two. His uniformed self fell to the ground just like a corpse while the one dressed in the kimono stared down at it in a mixture of shock and disbelief. At that moment, Rika happened to arrive at the rooftop where she normally had her lunch with her brother and witnessed the event.

"Nii-san!" she screamed and dashed towards him. Both heads turned to face her, alarmed at another person's presence. "What did you do to nii-san?" she glared at the girl. She immediately went into a dramatic play which caused both siblings to sweatdrop.

"She can see me, you know. You can drop that stupid act," Ichigo folded his arms irritably.

"Is that so?" the girl switched tones so suddenly it surprised Rika. "My name is Kuchiki Rukia. You are?" she asked in a tone that reminded her of a person with a high social standing.

"Kurosaki Rika," Rika replied. "Would you kindly explain why there's two of nii-san here?"

"Just tell her. No point in hiding it if she's already seen us," Ichigo told her. Rukia proceeded to explain the existence of the Shinigami and how she was one of them. Her powers had currently been transferred to Ichigo and she could not return home to Soul Society until her powers return to her. Rika took it all in stride but not without shooting confused looks every now and then.

"So nii-san is a Shinigami now?" Rika asked. Rukia nodded in response. "I see… I think I can believe you, but why do you need nii-san now?"

"Work," Rukia gave a quick reply and showed them her cell phone which had a map currently displaying a small section of Karakura Town. "While I'm near powerless right now, he has to do my work for me. Follow me, Ichigo," she ordered with a firm tone and he complied.

"Rika, take care of my body until I get back, okay?" he instructed her to which she nodded and waved him a safe trip. He still had not returned when the recess bell rang again, signaling that break time was over. Rika started to panic, partly because her brother had not returned and partly because class had resumed. Only after a period and a half had passed did they return.

"Nii-san, are you alright?" Rika approached them. Neither of them looked hurt but Ichigo seemed pissed off as his scowl was deeper than usual. "Did something happen?"

"Just some Shinigami ethics I don't give a damn about," he replied. Rukia elbowed him in the side before huffing and returning to class. "Hey! At least tell me how to get back in my body!" Ichigo demanded but she was already out of sight.

"Maybe you walk back in?" Rika suggested awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

"It might work. Rika, hold my body up straight," Ichigo told her. She heaved a little as she held his body up by the shoulders. He slowly walked towards his body and stuck his hand in. A translucent blue light shone where his hand had sunk into his body. Gaining more confidence, he went right in.

"Nii-san?" Rika called from behind. She felt movement from her brother's body and she let go. Ichigo stumbled a bit before he got his bearings. "How are you feeling?" He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and mentioned they should return to class. Rika had forgotten all about it despite it being one of her bigger worries. She dashed off hurriedly while Ichigo took his own sweet time.

*****Break Line*****

After school, Rika went to a convenience store to buy some sweets for Yuzu and Karin. When she went out, she nearly missed Rukia turning round a corner that led into a scarcely populated area of Karakura Town. Growing suspicious of her, she tailed her all the way to a shack known as Urahara Shouten.

"I didn't know there was a store here…" Rika spoke to herself. She had been to this area only once before and did not remember seeing the shack. Taking a second look at it, the wooden panels seemed too old to have been recently built. She deduced that she must have missed it the first time round. Rukia spent ten minutes in that store before coming out empty-handed. That immediately caused Rika to figure that something was amiss. There was no way a small store like that could cause anyone to window-shop for ten whole minutes. She hid herself in a corner when Rukia turned to look around, feeling as if she was being followed before leaving the area.

"Hello there, young lady! Are you perhaps interested in what my humble store has to offer?" a jovial voice suddenly spoke up from behind her. She screamed loudly as her heart threatened to leap out of her chest from the shock. It was by pure luck, or devious design, that Rukia did not hear her scream. She quickly turned around and saw a man wearing a green kimono with a matching coat that flared at his ankles.

"W-W-Who are you?" Rika asked shakily, still recovering from the shock. "Are you perhaps the owner of that store?"

"That would be correct, young lady," he confirmed the guessed identity. "Urahara Kisuke, at your service. Right this way, please." He proceeded to walk towards the shack, gesturing for her to follow him. She obediently did so, feeling that this was a good chance to figure out what Rukia had gotten her brother into. True to Rika's suspicions, there really was nothing worth window-shopping in the shack. At first glance, it was just like a second-rate convenience store without the air-conditioning. They sat around a round table as a young girl served them tea.

"From the look on your face, I can tell that you have many questions for me, don't you Kurosaki-san?" Urahara smiled meaningfully behind his opened paper fan.

"How do you know my name?" Rika asked, stunned by the shopkeeper.

"Oh, I have my ways," he answered lightly. "Now how about those questions? I'll answer as many as I can."

"First of all, am I right in assuming that this store has some dealings with… people calling themselves Shinigami?" Rika tried a direct approach.

"My, you are a sharp one," Urahara praised her. "That is correct. I have dealings with Shinigami."

"Forgive me if I'm being rude, but what do you intend to do with my brother?" Rika asked a more sensitive question.

"I'm just observing him for now," Urahara answered honestly while fanning himself lightly. "I want to see his potential as a Shinigami."

"For what purpose? Why involve my brother in all this?" Rika asked again, visibly upset that her brother was stuck in a dangerous situation.

"Now that information I cannot reveal, Kurosaki-san," Urahara said with utmost seriousness, though his smile was still in place. "I am sorry, but it's best if you don't know anymore at the moment." Although dejected by the refusal, Rika thanked him for the rest of the information and headed home to think about what was about to happen to Ichigo.

*****Break Line*****

Weeks passed since Ichigo first received his 'temporary' Shinigami powers and Rika inevitably found herself getting caught up in his Shinigami duties. She had only volunteered to take care of his body if he had to go Shinigami during school time, but those times were few.

First was when a serpent-like Hollow with a humanoid upper body attacked them directly in their home with Rukia taking residence in their closet. Ichigo had managed to cut off part of its mask and revealed the identity of the Hollow. It was a patient that had died in their clinic a few years ago and it was the brother of one of their classmates, Inoue Orihime. Rika chewed Rukia out for information because Inoue was friends with the siblings and she was worried for her, eventually finding out that Hollows were formerly spirits of the dead. They were horrified by the truth, but Rukia told Ichigo that if he did not kill the Hollow, the soul could not be saved.

Rika's sharp mind quickly caught on to her statement. That meant Shinigamis had some sort of special ability to save the soul of the Hollow. Rukia had mentioned something called Konso, but Rika had a feeling it was not the same thing. She chose not to ask about it since Rukia was extremely reluctant to reveal any Shinigami information in front of her. She claimed that Rika was not her substitute, and only Ichigo was supposed to be privy to that information. All that Rika had learned so far were from finding the hidden messages in her statements.

Next was when one of Ichigo's close friends, Sado Yasutora nicknamed Chad, was brought in to their clinic due to severe injury to his back. Ichigo had made a conscious effort not to involve her in his affairs since his so-called infamous 'delinquent' status already made the students during their middle school years unnecessarily hate, fear and avoid her simply because they were family. But ever since she joined him in high school, he eventually introduced her to his small circle of friends. Only Arisawa Tatsuki had known the siblings since they were children.

While Isshin treated Sado for his wound, Ichigo and Rukia noted that it was caused by a Hollow. Rika grew very uneasy and disturbed by something about the wound the longer she stared at it. It had traces of Hollow reiatsu, and she was starting to learn what it felt like. Sado had disappeared the day after his treatment, and Karin had mysteriously fallen ill which made Rika skip school to care for her. She woke up a few hours ago later and pleaded with her to tell Ichigo to free the soul trapped inside a bird. A bird that just happened to be the one Sado had found a few days ago. Knowing that Karin had the same ghostly vision as them, it was no mere coincidence and she rushed off to find Ichigo.

When she did find him, she managed to witness the rising of the gates of Hell, as Rukia called them. She watched as a bat-like Hollow was thoroughly impaled by a massive sword emerging from the open gates and dragged in. When the gates disappeared, Ichigo and Rukia finally sensed her presence. She grumbled in frustration at how Rika appeared at the worst possible time and discovered something else related to the Shinigami. Rika frowned and ignored her, telling Ichigo Karin's message for him. The spirit trapped in the bird was then freed, turning into a black butterfly and flying off to a place called Soul Society.

*****Break Line*****

Soon after, something called a Mod Soul got involved with them. Rukia gave Ichigo an item called a Gikongan. It looked a sweet dispenser. She explained about its functions and added that it was better an artificial soul looked after his body than Rika. She was clearly upset about it but agreed that it was a better solution. When the replacement soul gave his introduction, both siblings were definitely unconvinced that he could even cover for him decently.

Ichigo nearly beat up his own body when the Mod Soul actually tried hitting on his sister. Ogling aside, he actually got on one knee and asked Rika for her name while calling her a beautiful lady and kissing her hand. Her face heated up like a thermometer and she descended into a spluttering mess. Her thoughts went haywire until Ichigo pulled his own body away from her and threatened to beat him up. In the end, Rika still ended up having to look after his body because his trust in the Mod Soul had dropped to rock bottom after seeing him flirt shamelessly with her.

When Ichigo and Rukia left for their Shinigami duties, the Mod Soul immediately changed his demeanor. Rika watched curiously as he seemed to be trying to adjust to being in Ichigo's body by doing some stretches. In an attempt to impress her, he showed off his superhuman leg strength. She was stunned in shock, but unfortunately the Mod Soul thought she was stunned in awe. A teacher happened to come by and spot them, demanding why they were not in class. Rika was about to make up an excuse when she was abruptly picked up and carried off in bridal fashion as the Mod Soul took off to another part of the school.

Because of his absurd jumping power, each leap brought them high in the air. Rika held on tightly to his neck to avoid falling off, but he mistakenly thought of it as a romantic move on her part. When he called her out on it, her blush returned full force but she did not lose control of her thought process this time. She retorted that she simply held on for safety and nothing more. Mentally, she did admit that it did give off a romantic feeling being carried that way and Ichigo was a handsome guy... She quickly shook those thoughts away and berated herself for even thinking about them. It was wrong, even if it was the Mod Soul controlling Ichigo's body.

In the end, neither of them returned to class. Ichigo had rushed back because he was worried about Rika and his 'image' as a cold, distant person. He ended up in a short scuffle with the Mod Soul but he escaped into town, this time taking his sister hostage instead of simply carrying her around in an attempt to woo her.

He decided to simply wander around town, seemingly enjoying himself. Passers-by were watching him in shock since he was making incredibly high leaps. And since Rika was once again carried bridal style by him with her arms around his neck for safety, the people's eyes were also on her. Her face burned with embarrassment the entire time he was sight-seeing.

He eventually stopped on top of a wooden fence to observe some boys playing their hand-held games. She witnessed first-hand how infuriated he became when he overheard some boys talking about their games and how one of them deleted his current character for a new one. She tried to stop him for assaulting the children to no avail, but fortunately Ichigo arrived in time to stop the attack. Ichigo himself was furious about how he was about to attack innocent children alongside kidnapping his sister.

The Mod Soul turned his attention to Ichigo and attacked him. Ichigo could not fight back because he still had Rika in his arms and he did not want to hurt his own body. Rika struggled to break free once again but she had no luck. The Mod Soul was only using his legs to fight so his grip on her was still strong.

He managed to escape again, this time going by the roofs. Now that the situation had calmed down a little, Rika asked him why he attacked the children. He told her about the situation around his existence, and how the day he was created was also the day his death was decided. He had miraculously survived his termination and was mixed with other types of medicine that were to be transported out of the warehouse. Even then he was still afraid of being found and scrapped. He simply wanted to be free. Rika sympathized with him, and understood his fury towards the children. He saw himself in the shoes of the deleted digital character.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to look back. Rika asked what was wrong when that uneasy and disturbing feeling she got when Sado was in their clinic with that wound caused by a Hollow came back. She asked if it was a Hollow and he nodded. She had finally been able to get a lock-on on the feeling of a Hollow's presence and their reiatsu.

The Mod Soul dashed back to the children who were about to get eaten by a centipede-like Hollow. He finally let her down and told her to stay back while he engaged the Hollow. He got in a major first hit but the fight quickly went downhill for him. After receiving a wound to the shoulder, he raced to the roof of a nearby building and the Hollow chased after him. Worried for him and her brother's body, Rika went after him as well.

When she did get to the rooftop, she was surprised to see Urahara and his group of workers with Ichigo and the Mod Soul. From the way he was talking, it appeared that the Gikongan Rukia had brought for Ichigo was from his store. Before he could do anything, Rika stated that she had something to do with the Mod Soul while he still possessed a body.

She went up to him and stared in his eyes uneasily. Her cheeks flushed pink before giving a quick peck on his cheek. Urahara's eyes widened in surprise while Ichigo turned red in embarrassment, yelling that it was his body she was kissing. The Mod Soul was stunned by her action as she thanked him for the trip even if it was inappropriately done. Even though the day was hectic and she was highly embarrassed during his escapade, she admitted that it was nice being carried like that.

Nodding to Urahara, she stepped away and allowed him to eject the Mod Soul from Ichigo's body. When Ichigo asked what Urahara was going to do with him, he was surprised when the shopkeeper replied that he was going to destroy it. Rukia arrived just then to say that she was satisfied with her purchase and there was no need for him to do so.

Along the way home, Ichigo grumbled about how ridiculous it was for Rika to fall for a Mod Soul. She retorted that she did not fall for him and that it was a one-time thing only. He snorted and pointed out the small blush on her face. It erupted to full-blown redness as she screamed at him that it was simply because it was embarrassing to talk about it and that it was not related to the event at all.

He decided to drop the subject and dug out the pill from his pocket. He questioned Rukia on how he could complain to the Mod Soul directly since he injured the body he was using which was his own body. Rukia told him to inject the pill into a body without a soul, in other words, a dead body. Rika pointed out that there was no way they would find a dead body around. She then pointed towards a plush lion sitting on a pile of rubbish bags and suggested that he try to use it since it had a 'body'. The two of them were unsure about it but decided to try anyway. It did not move after a few seconds and Ichigo swung it around by its arm to get a reaction and it did. Rika looked on worriedly as Ichigo harshly grabbed the toy by the head and told him that he would 'take good care of him'.

*****Break Line*****

The next morning, the Mod Soul woke Ichigo up irritably with his blabbering and ended up being thrown face-first into the door and being named Kon. The door opened and Rika walked in already dressed in her uniform. She mentioned how he would not wake up at all even though she tried to get him up and that they were going to be late for school. She took a step in and stepped on something soft that squeaked. She looked down to see Kon gazing upwards at her. He gave her a thumbs up and mentioned a nice angle. Realizing what the nice angle meant, her face turned extremely red as she shrieked and quickly backed away, her hands pushing her skirt inwards to prevent any more peeking.

Ichigo hurriedly rushed to kick him away from the door, snarling menacingly at him before threatening him with serious harm should he try anything, peeking included, on Rika again. Just as he was closing the door to get dressed for school with no time for a morning bath, Rika mentioned that it was that day tomorrow.

The day Kurosaki Masaki, their mother, died.


	3. Memories In The Rain

**Author's Note: Here's Chapter Two and where the changes from canon start to be seen. Not much else to say except the main plot of this story won't change from canon, though certain scenes will change and my own original scenes will be added from time to time. So you can look forward to those changes and hopefully not get disappointed.**

*****Break Line*****

The night before the anniversary of Masaki's death, Ichigo made a special request to Rukia. He wanted tomorrow off from his Shinigami duties. She made it a point that there was no such thing as a day off for Shinigamis on duty.

"Please, Kuchiki-san. Tomorrow is a very important day for us," Rika said almost pleadingly. "It's the anniversary tomorrow."

"It's the day our mother died. ...No, it's the day she was killed," Ichigo added. Rukia fell silent at their solemn looks and quietly went back into the closet. Inside she thought long and hard, imagining various scenarios in her head. The most prominent one was that a Hollow had killed their mother. As she closed her eyes, she resolved to tell them about the possibility tomorrow. With the siblings, they were having trouble falling asleep. Ichigo had draped a towel over his eyes to help him rest, but the images from that night still kept flashing in front of his closed eyes. He had no doubt Rika was going through the same thing since he could literally feel how hard she was tossing and turning in the lower bunk of their bunk bed.

The Kurosaki family was off to the cemetery the next morning in uncomfortable silence. Along the way they had to climb a steep hill. Yuzu was the first to break the silence, stating the hill was really steep and she was getting tired. Karin was fine with it and advised her not to talk like that or else their father would do something stupid as a response. He already was doing something stupid, as he was in a hand-stand while shouting encouragement to Yuzu. The females of the family were a few meters ahead of Ichigo and Isshin and they sweatdropped at his absurd show of encouragement. Karin told her to ignore him and stated that if she responded to people like that, they would be on her back forever.

"How naive!" he stated as his eyes glinted at the challenge. "Even if you don't respond, I'll still be on your back!" He raced up the hill with surprising speed for walking on hands, and Karin urged her sisters to run. Before they could react, Isshin was miraculously able to dive forward with his arms first from a hand-stand. Due to his speed and low position, there was enough velocity behind his dive to blow Yuzu's and Rika's skirt upwards. Good news and bad news arrived at the same time.

The good news: Isshin could only look one way and the direction he was looking at was not in Yuzu's direction. As for Karin, she was wearing pants so she was safe either way.

The bad news: Isshin was looking in Rika's direction and even though she tried holding down her flapping skirt, he still got a peek at her panties. He even commented on them.

Embarrassment, humiliation and anger rushed through Rika at the same time. Despite the huge temptation, she refrained from joining Karin in kicking his face and sending him tumbling all the way down the hill to where they started from. Ichigo looked towards where his father was sent flying to with a raised eyebrow as though asking if he had seriously did that.

"Stupid old man..." Rika grumbled under her breath. Isshin was an eccentric man and she refrained from acting violently towards him despite that. She left the beatings to Ichigo and on occasion Karin. The things he did were usually limited to idiotic ramblings and attacking Ichigo at random times. Rika would simply do her best to ignore her father unless she got directly involved. There were more than a few times when he would bust into their room trying to attack Ichigo again, only to find him not there and Rika about to get dressed.

Then there was the one time he tried attacking Ichigo in the bath but found her instead. Isshin never tried to target the bathroom again ever since then. Dinner after that disastrous incident had the atmosphere of utter doom permeating from Rika. When Isshin tried to clear it, she shot him a glare that promised hellish retribution the moment he let a word out. That led him to fear Rika's silent treatment more than the physical abuse handed to him by Ichigo and Karin. He even wept to the poster of Masaki that Rika had perfected the dreaded 'art' of silent treatment.

Before the children could proceed without their father, the twins spotted someone. The older pair of siblings panicked when they recognized who it was. It was Rukia! She was blatantly waving her sunhat at them with a cheerfully fake smile. Yuzu asked if either Rika or Ichigo knew her, and Ichigo denied knowing her at all. Just when Karin was about to remember her face, Rika quickly made up a half-truth and said that it was a friend of theirs that had just transferred into their high school. Ichigo followed up by saying that it was so nostalgic seeing her that they had to talk to her right away. The older siblings dashed up the hill and dragged her away, telling the twins to go on ahead to their mother's grave. They only hoped the twins never suspected anything.

*****Break Line*****

"Why are you following me?" Ichigo asked after dragging Rukia to a used path in the nearby forest, not pleased at all.

"You don't have any way of turning into a Shinigami. I told you to bring Kon with you just in case," Rika told him, already knowing why they were followed. It was something she had mentioned earlier before they left but he absolutely refused, shutting Kon in their desk drawer.

"Hmph," Rukia chuckled in amusement. "Your sister has more sense than you and she's not the Shinigami."

"Even so, you could have followed us more discreetly," Ichigo replied.

"Sorry about that. I didn't realize," she stated bluntly, gaining exasperated looks from the siblings.

"Why are you angry?" he asked as she seemed a bit colder than usual to him today.

"I'm not angry," she replied. She looked away with a contemplating expression for a moment. "You said she was killed... Your mother." Both siblings froze at that subject. None of them sensed the presence of another person nearby.

"I didn't say that," Ichigo denied, not wanting to talk about it.

"Who killed her?" Rukia prodded.

"I didn't say that," he repeated himself. "Forget about it."

"You said you could see ghosts for as long as you could remember," she continued on, unperturbed by his denial. At his silence, she went on. "Then tell me one thing. Did a Hollow kill your mother?" Both Ichigo and Rika's eyes widened at that. It was true that they had lost consciousness and never witnessed who killed their mother, so a Hollow might very well be the culprit. But the very idea to them was ludicrous.

"How could you even...!" Rika snarled and stomped towards her. Ichigo held her back to prevent her from doing anything reckless. "Let me go, nii-san! This... This..." she struggled to break free from his grip.

"There is that possibility," Rukia went on, ignoring the scene in front of her. "If your reiryoku was high enough to see spirits, a Hollow might have been after you and killed your mother by mistake." Rika's fury grew even more at the preposterous claim, even if was possible. She was too blinded by anger to think straight. This was something that struck very dearly to her family's heart, and she was not willing to let an outsider make guesses over how her mother died. Ichigo could not hold back his anger either.

"We can't take this anymore!" he yelled, finally getting Rukia to pay attention to him. "Give us a break. You expect us to believe that crap you're spouting out of your mouth? It's already nothing to joke about and then you come up with this nonsense?" She had no reply this time. "To you everything is the cause of Hollows. Have you ever once thought that maybe it wasn't them?"

"We don't believe a Hollow killed our mother," Rika spoke up, her anger rapidly dissolving and being replaced with overwhelming grief and regret. "And even if it was, the ones who got her killed... was us." Her voice cracked at the end and she ran off.

"Now you know," Ichigo walked passed her and left her standing there in shock as he chased after his sister. Stunned by the revelation, Rukia walked aimlessly down the path with their words continually ringing in her head. She eventually reached the side of a cliff and sat down.

"...I'm an idiot," she muttered. Of all the scenarios, she had never imagined death by kin. Her backpack started rustling on its own and out popped a small plush lion. Rukia had brought Kon along in case she could not reach Ichigo herself. "Kon? I told you not to come out until I said so."

"It was hot in there! Let me have a breather, nee-san!" Kon whined, waving a paw at his face to demonstrate his point. "Come on. Why don't we go home?" He was incredibly bored with nothing to do at all.

"I told you. If we are separated from Ichigo, our response will be delayed if a Hollow appears," Rukia told him. Kon sulked and turned around to face away from her.

"It's always Hollow, Hollow, Hollow anywhere and anytime with you! If you think of nothing but work, you're going to lose friends, nee-san," Kon retorted in an irritated tone. He was not trying to insult her though. It was just a reminder that life was not always about work. Rukia stood up without warning, making him lose balance and fall off. Thinking she was mad, he tried to apologize but was quickly hushed. Focusing her senses for a moment, she quickly detected a spiritual being nearby. Cautiously, she trekked down the worn path and eventually found the being. It was another Shinigami, with orders to check up on her. Having a bad feeling about it, Kon ran off to tell Ichigo.

*****Break Line*****

With the older pair of Kurosaki siblings, Ichigo had managed to catch up to his sister at the stairs leading to the cemetery. He quietly watched her violently trembling shoulders. She had one hand covering her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs. Her back was turned to him, but he could still see how fast the tears were falling down her face. The only time he had seen her cry that hard was when they regained consciousness only to see their mother lying face down, dead. Remembering that made him remember all too clearly about the last moments the two of them spent with their mother.

*****Flashback*****

It was a rainy day, and Ichigo and Rika were walking in front of Masaki on the sidewalk. When they turned the corner, a truck zoomed pass and splashed them with muddy water. She went over and wiped their faces clean with her handkerchief, telling them to switch sides. They did not want to, since they were wearing raincoats and she was not. In the end they were turned down and she took the road side. Being the mommy's boy and girl that they were, they wanted to hold her hand. She only one hand free however, and Rika gave it to Ichigo since she held her hand yesterday.

Along the way home they had to pass by a river. The rain had gotten a lot heavier and the river was raging violently. Both siblings noticed a girl standing by the edge of the riverbank. The girl suddenly moved to fall in, and they rushed to save her from drowning. They never heard their mother's cries. The last thing they could remember before everything blacked out was reaching the riverbank.

When they regained consciousness, they realized there was a weight over them. Their eyes turned to look at it, and widened when they realized it was their mother over them. They quickly crawled out from under her and saw a lot of blood coming out from her back. They tried shaking her and called for her many times but she did not respond. Neither had any medical knowledge at the time, but they knew enough that she was dead. They had moved to save that girl only for their mother to end up dead before their very eyes. She died protecting them from something, they realized. But it did not matter. It was their fault she was dead. Their mother, the very center of their family, had been taken away by them.

*****End Flashback*****

It hurt. Like someone had dug out their hearts, poisoned them with all the negative feelings in the world, then put them back. The amount of grief, guilt and self-loathing could not be described with words even if they tried. Ichigo fell on all fours, trying his absolute best not to let his tears show. Rika was crying enough for both of them. Back then, and now.

After regaining some composure, they proceeded to go to the cemetery where their mother's grave was. Kon suddenly appeared from the bushes and claimed Rukia was in trouble. Alarmed, Ichigo ordered Rika to go to their sisters while he followed Kon back. Rika rushed as fast as she could, and was relieved to see the twins safe. They questioned why she was panting so hard when the disturbing feeling of a Hollow's presence suddenly appeared behind her. Karin's eyes were frozen as she stared behind her older sister, Rika shakily turned back to see a Hollow right behind her, and looking directly at her. It resembled a giant hamster with what looked like a fishing lure hanging from its head.

"You smell tasty, girl. If you weren't in front of me, I would have mistaken you for a Shinigami," the Hollow spoke. Yuzu could not see it and could only see the horror plastered on both her sisters' faces.

"Karin-chan? Onee-chan, what's wrong? Is something there?" she asked worriedly. She knew of her other siblings' ghostly vision and realized that it was something only they could see. Whether that 'ghost' was dangerous or not was another matter entirely.

"Yuzu-chan, Karin-chan! Run, now!" Rika managed to move her legs despite the invisible force that had been pushing down on her even since the Hollow appeared. Karin was quick to heed the warning and turned to run. Yuzu was still confused and asked what was happening. "I said RUN!" Rika yelled at her, grabbing her hand harshly and pulling her along. The Hollow allowed them to run for a short distance before giving chase. His gait was big and his stride was long and fast, catching up with them easily. Rika noticed a shadow over her and saw one of his front legs trying to squash her. Mustering all her strength, she threw Yuzu to Karin just before she was pressed down by him.

"Karin-chan...! Go, run! Run to otou-san!" she told them from her downed position.

"Rika-nee! What about you?" Karin yelled as she got ready to run again.

"Never mind me! Go...!" Rika gritted her teeth to stop herself from screaming as she felt even more pressure trying to crush her into the concrete pavement. She felt pain burning throughout her body, and she guessed a few of her ribs had broke from the force. To her horror, she saw Yuzu breaking away from Karin and trying to help her up. "Yuzu-chan, what are you doing...! I told you to run...!" she wheezed painfully.

"I can't leave you here!" Yuzu cried, trying to pull her free. Rika managed to look up just enough to see the Hollow's appendage start to move.

"Karin-chan, grab Yuzu-chan and go! He's attacking!" she yelled. Luckily for Yuzu, Karin knew how to react to orders quickly and managed to pull her twin away just as the appendage tried to grab her by the neck.

"Karin-chan, we have to help onee-chan!" Yuzu once again tried to break free.

"There's nothing we can do!" Karin snapped, frustrated by her inability to do anything to help. "We have to run! Rika-nee is giving us the chance to escape!" Karin herself wanted to turn back to help her sister, but forced herself to escape.

Rika sighed in relief even as the grief-stricken wail from Yuzu faded from her ears. Her breathing was suddenly cut off as she felt something squeeze around her neck. She spluttered and choked as she tried to pull away whatever it was that was strangling her. The pressure on her back was lifted, and she was brought face to face with the Hollow. She managed to force an eye open, and saw that she was being held with the Hollow's appendage.

"I love eating females," the Hollow told her. "They just taste so good. And you smell the tastiest of all! I can hunt the other two later." He watched with a maniacal glee as Rika's face slowly turned blue and her struggles were getting weaker. He could see the light fading from her eyes. He chose to wait for her to lose consciousness before he ate her. His wait turned out to be his mistake. His appendage was cut off and Rika was freed by the timely arrival of Ichigo. He had his massive sword held in one hand while his other was busy pulling the offending appendage away from her neck. She coughed and choked as her air flow returned to normal. She barely noticed Rukia and another Shinigami arriving as well.

"Nii...-san... You're late..." she smiled weakly up at him.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he grinned lightly to her. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine soon," she answered softly, taking her time to breathe in much needed oxygen. Looking over to the Hollow, she saw a sight that she had not seen for six years. "Y-You..." Ichigo saw the same thing as her. "You're the girl from six years ago..."

"What's... going on?" he asked, just as stunned as Rika.

"Six years ago? Ichigo... You don't mean..." Rukia quickly saw the connection when the siblings recognized the figure in front of them.

"We tried to save that kid from drowning six years ago," he told her. "We suddenly lost consciousness, but when we woke up... our mom was..."

"Six years ago? I don't remember anything from that long ago," the girl spoke with a malicious tone. "This is interesting." The girl's features suddenly split in half from the head. The four of them watched as a pink appendage shot out from the top of her head and connected itself to the Hollow. The girl was split in half and flew up to reveal itself as nothing more than a lure.

"Grand Fisher," Rukia spoke up. "That's its code name. It hides itself and makes that appendage take human form. Anyone who sees it, in other words humans with high amounts of reiryoku, becomes its meal to increase its power. It has evaded the Shinigami for 50 long years and its favorite meal is... women."

"Which means... this thing killed our mom?" Ichigo asked. A glance at Rika glaring at Grand Fisher with all the anger and hate she contained made his own anger and hate appear.

"Ah, I see," he laughed to himself. "You two must be really lucky kids to have survived after seeing me. I might have been after you for your reiryoku, but women just look so tasty."

Ichigo had heard enough. With a furious battle cry, he jumped high into the air to slash downwards and was totally evaded. A warning from Rukia enabled him to avoid an attack by Grand Fisher. He jumped to the top of a nearby brick wall but was trapped in place by the Hollow's fur. Rukia tried to assist with her Kidou but he quickly broke out of the binding spell she used on him. With Ichigo unable to move, his next target was the vulnerable Rika.

A killing blow meant for her was taken by the other Shinigami. Due to the distraction, Ichigo managed enough strength to cut away the fur binding him. The Shinigami mentioned that Shinigamis never stop fighting Hollows and they never forgive them because of their indiscriminate killings. Ichigo was not expecting a Shinigami to die, but Rukia told him that they still do. However, that man did not die and had somehow fallen asleep despite his severe puncture wounds.

Kon had then just arrived in Ichigo's body to see Ichigo and Rukia facing off with Grand Fisher. He saw Rika trying to force herself to stand but her legs were trembling so badly they gave out on her. Her strength had still not returned enough for her to stand and her chest was still protesting in pain. Rukia ordered him to take Rika away to safety. When he asked about her, she snapped at him to go. Once again, he carried Rika bridal style and ran off.

"Kon, wait," she pulled his t-shirt to get his attention.

"What's the matter, Rika?" he asked.

"I need to watch nii-san's fight. I have to," she spoke quietly as to not aggravate her injury.

"What? It's too dangerous!" he protested.

"Just stand at a safe distance. Please, Kon..." she pleaded. He looked down to see a determined look in her eyes. He also saw something else. Because of the sudden heavy rain, her clothes were drenched and were sticking to her skin. He could barely see the outlines of her bra beginning to show through her wet shirt. He quickly looked up and straight ahead before she noticed he was not looking at her face anymore.

Kon did as requested and they watched Ichigo battle ferociously against Grand Fisher. As the battle raged on, he had not been able to land a single hit on the Hollow at all. To make matters worse, he was able to change the lure to have the face of their mother. He taunted Ichigo with her image and used it to stop one of his attacks. Using the hesitation, he commanded his fur to stab completely through his shoulder. Before he could finish him off, a miracle happened. The lure acted on its own.

The Shinigami who had fallen asleep earlier returned and explained that it was the mother's dying wish that caused the lure to act the way it did. Their mother's spirit looked at Ichigo with the eyes he so dearly remembered. She told him how proud she was. She was truly proud of the entire family. She told Ichigo to live before she disappeared. Empowered by her wish, Ichigo was able to find the strength to cut off one of Grand Fisher's legs before he retreated. Enraged by the retreat, he demanded that it come back and finish their fight. Before he could attempt to give chase, his own strength faded and he fainted from all the pain and exhaustion. Rukia cradled his head on her lap and started to heal him.

Rika requested Kon to bring her to the temple where her father and sisters were taking shelter from the rain. The twins were glad their older siblings were safe, although Karin was eyeing Kon suspiciously. She felt something off about her brother, especially with that aloof look on his face. She understood that Rika was probably too hurt to stand and allowed him to carry her. But why was he looking so hard at her? She scrutinized her sister and realized that her light-colored shirt was thoroughly drenched from the rain and had become see-through.

Deciding to blame it on hormones for his weird behavior, Karin pointed out that fact as neutrally as she could. Rika looked towards her chest and realized what she meant. Kon quickly snapped his head away and started whistling to feign innocence. Karin could almost swear she saw steam exiting from her sister's extremely red face. She did not do anything to try to cover her chest, though. Isshin chuckled before wrapping his coat over her to cover her modesty.

When the rain finally stopped, Ichigo had returned to his body in secret and Rika had to walk with his assistance to their mother's gravestone. They offered their prayers and stared at it solemnly, remembering how she died and her death wish. Ichigo apologized to their mother for failing to avenge her. Isshin came up to them and told him that as long as he lived healthily she would be satisfied. He took out a cigarette to smoke, and they mentioned that they thought he had quit smoking. He told them that Masaki thought his hand looked cool when he smoked, so he only smoked on this day in front of her grave.

The siblings could no longer hold back their own grief and Ichigo asked why none of the other three family members blamed them for taking their mother away. Isshin told them that it was not anyone's fault Masaki died, and that the woman he fell in love with did not mind dying to protect her beloved children. If he blamed them for her death, she would be angry at him. He reminded them that they should not forget they were the children she gave her life to protect.

He suddenly kneed Ichigo in the back before walking off with Rika. He told them to live to the fullest, and if possible to die with a smile. He specifically told Ichigo not to be so indecisive since he was still too young to look cool carrying his grief around. When they was out of ear-shot, Ichigo called out to the eavesdropping Rukia and told her he wished to remain a Shinigami a little longer. He wished to get stronger so that he could protect the people being targeted by the Hollows. He also swore to beat Grand Fisher, or else he could not face his mother. Rukia had a look of pride almost, and allowed him to do so.


	4. Quincy, Shinigami, Human

**Author's Note: Here comes our resident Quincy, Ishida! None of the battles are changed, but there is an original scene from me that has Rika as an additional target for the Hollows and that Kon is with her instead of Rukia. Just like with Inoue and Sado, Ichigo's excessive reiryoku is starting to change Rika as well. You can look forward to more original scenes and changes in the future. They will certainly be bigger and better as well.**

*****Break Line*****

Over the next few weeks, activities went by fairly normally as it could for a temporary Shinigami. There was an incident at the abandoned hospital where a man named Don Kanonji set the stage for his show. To Ichigo and Rika, he was a loony. A ridiculous loony that was somehow famous. His show claimed that he was clearing the area of 'Bad Spirits'. It turned out he genuinely had spiritual awareness and not empty boasting. Unfortunately, the way he cleared 'Bad Spirits' ended up turning the Plus chained to the hospital into a Hollow. It did not escalate into anything much thankfully.

It was only when a classmate of theirs, Ishida Uryuu, came up to them one night. Rukia's cell phone had been missing the mark lately and after another miss, he showed up. He first questioned the siblings whether they could see ghosts. Ichigo feigned ignorance by asking what he was talking about. Before he could reply, he turned his head to the side and said a new Hollow had appeared. Two Kurosakis and one Kuchiki were surprised by his statement. It was only after his statement that Rukia's cell phone notified them of a Hollow. Ichigo asked which direction, and Ishida pointed to the right. He berated Ichigo, saying that even though he called himself a Shinigami, he still did not know things like the sensing of a Hollow's appearance. He took a stance, and a bow made of translucent blue light appeared in his hand. Pulling it back with the other, he let loose an arrow of the same light and it struck an appearing Hollow right in the skull. It let out a pained howl as it disappeared.

Rika was impressed by his ability to sense a Hollow just as it appeared. Even Rukia's cell phone needed a moment longer to detect it. She had recently been able to detect a Hollow too. Going by her own guesses, she estimated her detection range was about as far she could see with her naked eye. She supposed it also detected around her, since she once sensed a Hollow appearing quite a distance behind her.

"What the hell are you?" Ichigo asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Ishida Uryuu, Quincy," he gave his name and status. "And I hate Shinigami."

"What?" Ichigo was puzzled by his statement.

"What I mean is... Kurosaki Ichigo, I hate _you_," Ishida glared at him hatefully before leaving. Ichigo was extremely disturbed by the meeting the entire night and even the next morning. It was not exactly disturbing to him; it just annoyed the hell out of him. He eventually came across Inoue who told him that Ishida was in the handicrafts club and they spied on him for a moment. When school ended, Ichigo grabbed Rika and took her to tail him.

"Are you going to follow me all the way home, Kurosaki?" Ishida paused at a staircase not far from school. Knowing he was caught, Ichigo stepped out from the corner with his sister.

"So you knew. Since when?" he asked.

"Probably from the start," Rika supplied an answer.

"Really?" he turned to her with a surprised look.

"Your sister is right. I knew since you were spying at me from the classroom door with Inoue-san," Ishida confirmed.

"Oh? Pretty impressive. You got skills," Ichigo stated merely as a fact, not as a compliment.

"If Ishida-senpai can detect Hollows, what makes you think he won't detect you?" Rika gave her brother a deadpanned look. Despite being in the same class as Ichigo, she still referred to her fellow classmates as her seniors due to her being a year younger than all of them. He returned the look back with one of confusion. "Nii-san, don't tell me you never realized you have been leaking your reiryoku?"

"Eh?" he looked alarmed at his new discovery that was old news to both Rika and Ishida. She shook her head and sighed in exasperation.

"Nii-san, it's your reiryoku. Shouldn't you be able to at least feel your own power?"

"Apparently, you lack the ability to sense other people with high reiryoku. As proof, you've never noticed my existence until today. It's not unexpected, considering you can't even sense your own," Ishida told him.

"Well excuse me then. I'm no good at remembering people's faces and names," he replied sarcastically. "Rika, remember him for me please."

"Eh? Do that on your own, nii-san!" she complained a little due to how childish his request was.

"That's not what I mean," Ishida fully turned to face the siblings. "I noticed from the day you transferred to our school. The inordinate height of your reiryoku." Ichigo's eyes widened at the revelation. "And the fact that you got your Shinigami powers around mid-May. As well as Kuchiki Rukia's real identity. There's also another fact I just recently learned. Your Shinigami powers have been... polluting your own sister's reiryoku."

"What?" both siblings uttered together. Instead of a verbal reply, he summoned up Spirit Threads.

"Spirit Threads, reishi in the atmosphere condensed and visualized," he explained. "Someone unrefined in the use of reiryoku should not be able to materialize them. Kurosaki-san, have you seen this before?" There was a weird pause because Ichigo and Rika had no idea which one of them he was referring to. Kurosaki could have meant either of them. "Not you, Kurosaki Ichigo. I am asking your sister," he clarified.

"Why only my sister? What about the honorifics to me?" Ichigo retorted, ticked off by the apparent bias Ishida seemed to have.

"You, Kurosaki Ichigo? You are hardly an individual worthy of me saying your name with any sort of honorific. Kurosaki-san, on the other hand," Ishida purposely referred to Rika that way just to piss Ichigo off further. "She is a much more pleasant person, compared to you. That alone is enough for me."

"Calm down, nii-san. I'm sure Ishida-senpai didn't mean anything horribly mean by that," Rika consoled her disgruntled brother.

"Back to the original topic. Kurosaki-san, have you seen these Spirit Threads before?" Ishida asked. At Rika's nod, he continued. "Please give a genuine try at materializing them." Puzzled at the request, she did so anyway. She focused on the feeling of the Spirit Threads and imagined them appearing before her. To her and Ichigo's shock, she was able to call on them. Not only that, but the white Spirit Thread coming from her had reddish-brown stain marks in various spots and sizes. Due to the shock at seeing it and losing focus, they immediately disappeared.

"That discoloration is proof of your pollution, Kurosaki Ichigo. While I noticed your sister has a high amount of reiryoku too, although hers is nowhere near yours, she should not have been able to use it at all. Also..." For a split-second, Ishida vanished from their sight. The next, he was crouching in front of Ichigo and holding a _red_ Spirit Thread, when they should have been white like all the others. "This is your Spirit Thread," he told Ichigo. "Don't you know? A Shinigami's Spirit Thread has a different color." He dismissed the threads and stood up. "Why don't we have a match, Kurosaki Ichigo?" At Ichigo's glare, he supposed he was willing to listen. "I'll make you understand which of us is superior, and that Shinigamis are unnecessary in this world."

"A match? You and me?" Ichigo asked skeptically.

"That's right." They glared at each other for a moment.

"Hmph! Freaking ridiculous!" Ichigo yelled. "Why should I have a match with you? It's stupid. I don't know what you have against Shinigami, but it's got nothing to do with me."

"You're running away, eh?" Ishida taunted.

"You can't provoke me," he retorted. "I'm just saying that between you and me, there'd be no competition. Let's go, Rika." He turned to leave with Rika giving a small bow to Ishida as a customary respect for her senior before following.

"Oh that's right, I had forgotten," Ishida spoke up, making them stop. "You're a Shinigami who got his powers from Kuchiki-san. In other words, a temporary Shinigami. Without her permission, you can't even lift a finger."

"What did you say?" Ichigo muttered coldly. Sensing trouble brewing and knowing how easily he got riled up, Rika tugged fiercely on his uniform sleeve and told him to forget it. He chose to listen to his pride instead of her and told her to head back first. He dug out Kon from his bag and harshly took the pill from within the plush toy. He swallowed it and went into his Shinigami form with Kon controlling his body. Rika picked up the now empty toy and tucked it into her own bag. "Now, go over the rules of the battle quickly."

"We'll fight with this," Ishida took out a pill from his shirt pocket. Ichigo quirked his eyebrow, prompting him to explain. "It's Hollow bait. If I crush and scatter it around, Hollows will appear."

"What did you say?" Ichigo exclaimed in alarm. Rika also had a similar look on her face.

"Whoever kills the most Hollows that gather in 24 hours is declared the victor," he coldly stated, ignoring the apparent danger that attracting Hollows would cause. "How's that? Isn't the rules easy to understand?" a smirk appeared on his face.

"Senpai, please don't be ridiculous! Don't you realize how much danger you'll put the town in if you use that?" Rika tried to reason with him. "Are you planning to put innocent lives at stake simply for this battle?"

"There is no need to worry, Kurosaki-san. I will kill every single Hollow myself," he claimed proudly. "If you have the confidence to protect others from Hollows, then you should be able to accept this challenge, Kurosaki." Without even waiting for a response, he crushed the bait between his fingers. Rika looked on in horror as she watched the particles dissipate into the air.

One Hollow was quick to respond to the bait and when it appeared, was immediately shot down by Ishida. Ichigo knocked him down to the ground, grabbing a fistful of his uniform. He demanded that he reverse the effects of the bait but was ignored. Ishida then told him that instead of holding on to him, he had more important things to do.

"Did you forget? Hollows have a tendency to favor and attack humans with high reiryoku," Ishida reminded. Rika was quick to catch on the reminder.

"Karin-chan!" she quickly rushed off to her home.

"Rika, wait! It's too dangerous to go alone!" Ichigo called out for her but she did not hear him. "Shit! Kon! Go after her!"

"I got it!" the Mod Soul gave chase and caught up to her in a matter of seconds. "Rika, it's too dangerous for you to be alone!"

"Then help me, Kon! Help me get to my sister!" she snapped.

"O-Okay! Hold on tight!"

"What are you- Ah!" Once again, she found herself being carried bridal style by the Mod Soul. Normally she would be embarrassed by it, but Karin were top priority. Circling her arms around his neck, she directed him on where to go. Yuzu could not see ghosts, so she doubted she would be targeted. Her first stop was her school but looking at the school clock, Karin was no longer there. She was off playing soccer with her friends. There were many public soccer fields in Karakura Town and she did not favor any one. They had no choice but to search each one, but even Rika did not know the location of all the fields. They just had to try.

While Kon was genuinely worried for the family, he was not as worried. Instead, his thoughts were drifting on how manly he felt carrying Rika around like a knight in shining armor. Luckily for him, she needed his leg strength and he would gladly offer it anytime to get to carry her like this. Who knew, perhaps one thing would lead to another and finally end with hot steamy action.

"Kon," his passenger called for him. She sounded like she was demanding his attention, and he sensed danger approaching him.

"What is it, Rika?" he asked, looking down at her. He could see a tick on her temple as she glared spitefully at him. Her cheeks were stained with a deep red, embarrassed and angry at the same time.

"...Where do you think your hand is touching?" she managed to just avoid growling at him. He gave her a confused look. His arms were supposed to be around her body and under her knees. He bent over slightly to look at his arms. One was definitely around her body, but the other was definitely not under her knees. He found his hand under her skirt and his pinky finger was beginning to brush the edges of her panties.

"Ah ha... Ha ha ha... Well, you see..." he failed miserably at trying to find an excuse. He did not realize his arm had moved inwards during his daydreaming.

"GET YOUR HAND OUT OF THERE!" she screamed right next to his ear, nearly making him smash his head into a nearby pole when he flinched. He quickly straightened himself and readjusted his grip back to its proper position. Unwilling to get on her bad side, he completely focused himself to getting to their destination. They arrived at a field minutes later, and it was empty. "Kon, next!" They went to every soccer field Rika knew of, but Karin was not in each one of them. Even Kon was beginning to run out of stamina and breath. "Kon, get us back home! Karin-chan might be there!"

To both their relief and disappointment, their home had not been targeted. Yuzu was cleaning the house as per usual and Isshin was waiting for any patients to drop by the clinic. The disappointment was that Karin was not home. Just before they could leave, their initial relief turned to horror. Hollows had appeared by the street just outside the clinic. From the way they were facing, it seemed they were aiming for the house.

"Kon, protect Yuzu-chan and otou-san!" she ordered. "I'll find Karin-chan myself!" She quickly got off and started running to any other area she suspected had a soccer field. After she ran quite a distance, she had to stop to catch her breath. Before she could even do that, her minor detection ability went haywire and it was pointing directly behind her. Three Hollows had appeared and they were eyeing her.

_"Did you forget? Hollows have a tendency to favor and attack humans with high reiryoku."_

Ishida's reminder sounded in her head. In her haste to find Karin, she had forgotten that she herself was one of those humans. Based on his observations, she was most likely third place if there ever was a competition of which human had the most reiryoku. Ichigo was a clear winner, and she supposed Ishida deserved second since he actually had control of it. He had claimed she had a high amount of reiryoku but nowhere near the amount of her brother. He did not mention her own reiryoku leaking, so it most likely was not.

Rika could see the hunger for her in their glowing eyes. She quickly picked up her speed and sprinted away. Hopefully, her stamina would last until she could find either Ichigo or Ishida. The Hollows gave chase and luckily they were slower, but not by much. It would take a very long run to totally lose them. As she ran past a deserted area, she saw the Urahara Shouten. Remembering that Urahara had dealings with Shinigami, he was bound to be able to help her. To her horror, no-one was available.

"No... No way..." she wheezed. Despair was steadily climbing onto her as her options to seek help were getting lesser. She managed to get out of the one-way street just before the Hollows could corner her at the shack. She had even more Hollows chasing her now, never mind the ones rapidly appearing high in the atmosphere.

She ran in the middle of the street, never taking any narrow turns for fear of finding a dead end. A dead end meant her life was also at a dead end. The longer she ran, the more exhausted she became. The longer she ran, the more Hollows joined the chase. The longer she ran with no sign of either Ichigo, Ishida or Urahara, the more her hope diminished.

Her legs finally gave out on her near a forest clearing, sending her to the ground mid-run. Her lungs burned for oxygen, and her legs were not responding to her will. She could not even find the strength to stand. Her legs were just that strained. In a desperate bid to escape, she began crawling with her arms as fast as she could. She never got far. The Hollows surrounded her like a pack of hungry wild dogs. She had never been more terrified in her life. At an unknown signal, all the Hollows pounced on her. She shut her eyes and covered her head with her hands in the vain hope she could protect herself. Instead of feeling the sensation of pain, what sounded like a cannon impact was heard. Opening her eyes again, she was never more relieved to see Urahara and his small group of helpers.

"Urahara-san!" she cried.

"I'm sorry for the wait, Kurosaki-san. We had other people to help as well," he told her with his happy-go-lucky smile. "Everyone, please get rid of the Hollows now." At his command, the helpers attacked with their respective weapons, destroying the Hollows with ease.

Once all of them were destroyed, Urahara crouched down next to her and put a palm to her legs. His palm started glowing a mystical green and after a moment, Rika could feel her legs beginning to feel better. After a while, her legs felt perfectly rested instead of being strained to hell.

"Healing Kidou sure is useful," she commented, recognizing it from all the times Rukia had healed Ichigo.

"It is," Urahara agreed. "Shall we go and aid your brother this time?"

"Nii-san is in trouble?" she exclaimed in panic.

"Not particularly. He just has something else to focus on soon," he fanned himself lightly as the group followed his lead.

"Urahara-san," she spoke up after a silent moment.

"Yes?"

"A classmate of mine, he calls himself a Quincy," she began.

"Ah," Urahara immediately understood.

"I won't ask what the Quincy are, but it's about something he mentioned."

"And that is?"

"He told me that my reiryoku has been polluted by nii-san's own ever since he became a Shinigami."

"Oh? Is that so?" Urahara did not seem surprised, and Rika got suspicious.

"Did someone else got polluted by nii-san's reiryoku as well?" she asked.

"Yes, two other individuals have been greatly polluted, as you say, by your brother's reiryoku. I'm just surprised you haven't shown any change yet since you are the closest individual to him," he replied.

"Urahara-san, is it possible to check for any changes?" she asked, a little worried about what change he was talking about. He placed two fingers on her forehead and she felt as though her body was being scanned. After a few seconds, he let go with a pleasant look on his face.

"Well well, your reiryoku seems to be waking up from its dormant state," he told her. That much was true, but he was holding back a key piece of information from her. Her reiryoku was taking a step towards becoming like her brother. Not too surprising, considering her heritage. Hiding his mouth with his paper fan, Urahara frowned. If she did not get the required help, the consequences would be huge.

She walked leisurely with the group, asking if whatever was causing the hairline cracks in the sky was what her brother had to deal with later. Urahara confirmed her guess, but made no mention of what it was exactly other than it was a Hollow. While walking, she decided to play around a bit by forming Spirit Threads, if only to get used to the feeling of using her reiryoku.

When they arrived at their destination, the thing causing the hairline cracks turned out to a towering Hollow known as a Menos Grande, or simply Menos, according to Rukia who was already there with Kon. Urahara advised them to simply watch but when Rukia tried to protest and get herself involved, she was rendered completely immobile and fell to her knees with a small tap to her forehead. Rika did not see any flashy lights but guessed it was Kidou. She remembered Rukia mentioning a school of sorts in the Soul Society and Kidou was one of the subjects.

They watched how Ichigo blocked the Menos' Cero before driving it away with an attack that slashed its entire frame. Rika heard Ishida mumble to himself about how Ichigo's leaking reiryoku was in an 'off mode' and how that attack had turned it 'on'.

Ichigo laid on his back from exhaustion before his sword suddenly deformed and he started screaming in pain. Ishida was quick to realize it was reiryoku he could not control and it would destroy his body if nothing was done. He put one foot on the blade and his spirit bow was enlarged to three times its regular size. He started firing arrows into the air to release all the unneeded power.

As Rika watched, her chest was throbbing in reaction. She put a hand over her chest and squeezed lightly. The throbbing seemed to come from somewhere inside her and was causing her to feel pain. She could feel her reiryoku reacting to her brother's, but did not know what was going to change. Urahara had never mentioned what change was happening to her and it was something to worry about.

At the same time, somewhere very near yet very far from Rika's location, an individual yawned loudly and stretched its tired limbs.

"It's too early... Why did her stupid brother have to wake me up...?"


	5. Spiritual Enlightenment

**Author's Note: We are now beginning to enter the Soul Society arc! Minor changes done to this chapter but rest assured the changes will be more noticeable as we get closer to the arc. Next chapter is the long awaited Shinigami training! Look forward to it!**

The phantom pain Rika was feeling had never disappeared ever since that day. There was a constant pressure coming from within her and she had to force herself to stop from constantly clutching her chest in discomfort. It slowly grew in intensity with time, and it was affecting her bad enough to start making her lose her sleep and appetite.

It grew to the point she called in sick for school for an unspecified amount of time after the whole family noticed how pale she had physically become. Ichigo suggested having Rukia look over her due to the spiritual nature of her pain, but she had been acting weird lately and did not seem to be in the mood to help. She looked almost melancholic when she left the house. Ichigo was worried for Rika more than he usually would since he was also bothered by the fact she was being 'polluted' by him.

*****Break Line*****

Later that afternoon, Rika wearily dragged her feet over to the Urahara Shouten. If anybody could help, it was surely him. After all, he was the one who performed the diagnosis. When she arrived, she saw a black cat strolling around the shack. She watched it with slight fascination before it seemingly sensed her looking at it and stared back. After a few seconds of eye contact, it ran into the shack. Rika was curious for a moment before heading inside as well. "Urahara-san, are you in?" Instead of the shopkeeper, the head assistant greeted her.

"Oh, Kurosaki-dono. Is there something we can help you with?" Tessai asked in his always polite tone.

"Yes, there is. I believe it has something to do with my reiryoku," she replied, clutching her chest without meaning to. Despite the dim surroundings, light was mysteriously reflected off his square glasses.

"Yes, I will get the owner immediately," he bowed slightly before heading to the back of the store. She did not have to wait long for Urahara. He invited her over to the back where Ururu served them some green tea. Rika explained about how her reiryoku was feeling very weird lately and the pressure in her chest. He simply nodded in understanding each time.

"I can help you with your troubles. But first, would you like to take a guess on what is happening to you?" he asked her.

"My reiryoku started acting weirdly ever since nii-san lost control of his reiryoku yesterday," she recalled.

"Anything else?" he prompted. "Like a change in the feel of it when you use it?" Rika blinked stupidly at him, only now realizing she had never done anything of the sort to even check. Ever since the pain first made itself known, she had been afraid any usage of her reiryoku would provoke an unwanted reaction. Focusing for a moment to perform what she dubbed the Spirit Thread exercise, she focused her reiryoku. She quickly noticed something extremely wrong. Her reiryoku was reacting weirdly and she struggled to contain its erratic actions. When she got it under control, she noticed her own Spirit Thread had even more red and brown stains than before.

"W-What is this...?" Rika was disturbed at how heavily 'polluted' her Spirit Thread was compared to the time Ishida had first shown it to her. "What's happening to me?" she turned to Urahara with scared eyes.

"My, my, it's growing faster than I anticipated it to, especially since you took the longest to develop any changes," Urahara gently took her Spirit Thread in his hand for a closer look.

"What changes?" she asked, getting increasingly worried when she saw his gaze sharpen as he inspected her Spirit Thread.

"Can you match your Spirit Thread to anything in mind?" he asked her instead of answering her question. She racked her brain for anything that had a connection to the changes in her Spirit Thread. Now that she thought about it, the only other colored Spirit Thread belonged to Ichigo. Thinking back further, her detection ability only kicked in after she could sense his overflowing reiryoku. She remembered Ishida mentioning his reiryoku polluting hers. He said the pollution began ever since he received his Shinigami powers from Rukia so...

Her face turned pale at the conclusion she arrived at. Taking a closer look at her Spirit Thread, she clearly saw the red of a Shinigami's Spirit Thread on her own Spirit Thread. The brown stains had distracted her from focusing on the red. Now she knew why her reiryoku was acting the way it was. It was confused as to whether it should produce a human's reiatsu or a Shinigami's reiatsu. Her own reiatsu had two feelings to it. A memory then came unbidden to the front of her mind.

_"If you weren't in front of me, I would have mistaken you for a Shinigami." _It was Grand Fisher's comment to her.

"I'm... producing... Shinigami reiatsu..." she mumbled weakly as her concentration slipped and the Spirit Threads disappeared.

"Yes," Urahara agreed. "And your situation is vastly different than the other two individuals that have been affected by your brother's reiryoku."

"How so?"

"Those two have developed special powers unique only to themselves while still remaining completely human, including their reiatsu. If anyone tried sensing them, they would not mistake it for anything else. As for you, your human reiatsu has been converting to that of a Shinigami's. However, in your case, the change is like a ticking time bomb." The news sent chills up her spine.

"W-Why?"

"For you to understand, I will have to explain certain things about Soul Society," he told her. "Are you ready?" At her nod, he began his explanation. "I'm sure you have seen the act of Konso, and how Pluses get sent to Soul Society. Those Pluses get placed in an area called Rukongai where they live their afterlife and are simply normal souls with no more danger of becoming a Hollow. Souls with notable reiryoku or are able to wield it are enrolled into the Shinigami Academy. Are you with me so far?"

Rika matched what he had said with what she had learned. She had seen her brother do Konso, and Rukia had spoken of a place called the Soul Society. She had also mentioned a school for Shinigami. So far, everything matched other than Rukongai. She had not heard about it, but there was no reason to doubt Urahara. After making sure to remember everything, she nodded in affirmation.

"It is in the Academy where the souls learn how to be Shinigami. Not all the souls can become Shinigami, only the ones with potential. Other souls remain as they are until they get reborn in the Living World. Remember that Shinigamis are souls. The two affected individuals and the Quincy are still very much human even though they can make use of their reiryoku. As for you, Kurosaki-san, you are not yet a soul, so you are not a Plus. Your reiryoku is still trying to produce human reiatsu. If your soul is removed from your human body, only then does your human reiatsu become a soul's reiatsu, which in turn becomes a Shinigami's reiatsu. Please remind me again. What is your human reiatsu undergoing now?"

"It's converting itself into Shinigami reiatsu," she answered without missing a beat.

"Correct. Your reiatsu is totally skipping the part of needing to be a soul first. It is fatal for you since a soul cannot contain human reiatsu and Shinigami reiatsu at the same time, only one or the other. You have to be a Plus to safely convert human reiatsu into Shinigami reiatsu."

"What will happen to me?"

"Your human body will die, and your soul will destroy itself. You can't be both dead and alive simultaneously. A Shinigami is a soul. To be a Shinigami is to die."

Rika became utterly afraid for her life at that moment. When she first learned of the Shinigami's existence, she lost all fear of death. Now she was being told her soul would destroy itself if nothing was done and afterlife would be moot. Then she remembered Ichigo's condition.

"Wait a minute! Nii-san is still alive and he's a Shinigami!" she brought up her most important point. She told him everything Ichigo had told her about how he became a Shinigami.

"He missed an important part. When he was stabbed, his soul was forced out before he turned into a Shinigami. He died for a very short period of time to allow his soul to become a Shinigami. He probably did not think much about it after getting himself back in his own body. In essence, he is a human in body and Shinigami in soul. He is perfectly fine and will still live and age just like an ordinary human. You, on the other hand, are skipping the most vital part. Your soul is trying to live and die at the same time. It cannot handle the strain."

Thoughts of how distraught her family would be for losing another member haunted her. She wanted to live, both for herself and her family.

"Please, Urahara-san! Is there anything you can do to help me?" she pleaded.

"Of course, but there is a small condition," he told her. "You will stay here for the rest of the day until tomorrow. Something will happen tonight, and I request that you stay put for the duration of that event." Rika was not fooled by his laid-back tone.

"Is something bad going to happen to nii-san again?" she stated more than asked.

"It will certainly be bad, yes," Urahara dropped his smile. "You can be rest assured, he will not die."

"But-!" Rika could not believe her ears. How could he tell her to just sit back while knowing her brother was in grave danger? Her protest quickly died on her lips as her brain began thinking rationally. There would be nothing she could do anyway. "Urahara-san, can I at least watch?"

"...Very well. However, please do not do anything to blow our cover. Otherwise, I'll have to knock you out," he warned.

"Thank you, Urahara-san," she bowed gratefully to him.

"You're very welcome, Kurosaki-san," he returned the bow as courtesy. "If you wish to follow, you will be exposed to danger if your brother calls upon more reiryoku than he can handle."

"Eh? Why?"

"I'm sure you remember what happened that day. He very nearly destroyed himself with his own reiryoku simply by using more than he can control. It most likely will not happen again if he calls upon that excess reiryoku. However, you will be affected by that excess. On that day itself, the conversion of your reiatsu sped up tremendously simply by being near him when his reiryoku went out of control and his reiatsu flared wildly. It has speeded up to a point where you are feeling pressure on your soul. That is what is causing your phantom pain. If the same thing happens again, that phantom pain will feel very real and you will get even closer to being destroyed."

"..."

"You will still have to transform your soul if you wish to continue living. After that, you may choose to keep your new found powers or discard it."

"If this power can help me aid nii-san, then I will keep it. How can I run and hide when I have the ability to do something?"

"Headstrong just like your brother, I see," Urahara chuckled, hiding his smile behind his paper fan. "Thankfully not as stubborn. You are able to see reason much faster than him."

"Maybe... He's smarter than me, though," she replied modestly. The black cat that Rika had seen outside the shack came in the room at that moment and she stared at it again. Somehow, she just felt like it was not a normal cat like it appeared to be. Anything having to do with Urahara was hardly normal by any means.

"Ah, Yoruichi-san!" Urahara called out to the cat cheerfully.

"Urahara-san, that cat..." she spoke up hesitantly. "Not to be rude but... It's not a normal cat, right?"

"Good judgement, little girl," a deep voice that sounded like an old man rang out in the room. The cat's mouth had moved when the voice spoke, so it had to come from it. Despite coming to that conclusion, Rika still screamed in shock as she quickly backpedaled herself to the wall.

"I knew it..." she mumbled awkwardly as she took deep breaths to calm herself. "I can't believe a talking cat actually exists... And it's right in front of me..."

"Sorry little girl, but I have something important to talk to Kisuke about," he told her. Knowing it as a polite request to leave them alone, Rika quickly stood up and left the room. With a lot of time to pass before night arrived, she helped Ururu maintain the shack's cleanliness much to girl's happiness. Jinta was also glad for it, since he no longer had to do his share. Of course, Tessai was quick to reprimand him and brought him to do other chores.

*****Break Line*****

When night finally arrived, Rika followed Urahara and Yoruichi with a major sense of dread. Something bad was certain to happen. Urahara stopped her near the edge of a forest and motioned to move inside. They parked at a location which was hard to locate but easy to see out of. He reminded Rika one last time to be quiet and not to blow their cover. There they saw Ichigo confronting two male Shinigamis who were trying to detain Rukia.

Rika watched apprehensively as Ichigo was grieviously wounded when the man in red hair with tattoos on his forehead suddenly morphed his katana into a huge sword that was sectioned by increasingly larger picks via a command followed by what sounded like a name. Ichigo had tried to defend himself but was unable to halt the blow and the picks dug deep into his shoulder before they were harshly pulled out, digging even deeper into his wound. Rukia wrapped herself around the man, stopping him from attacking further as she pleaded for Ichigo to get up and run.

Ichigo stood still for a moment before his reiatsu suddenly flared. He had subconsciously called upon more of his reiryoku to match his opponent. Rika winced when she felt her phantom pain become even more noticeable and clutched her chest on reflex. Urahara and Yoruichi spared her a short glance before returning their attention to the restarted battle. The tables were suddenly turned, with Ichigo giving his opponent a few glancing wounds. Those wounds were enough to disable the man from moving away from a fatal strike.

The fatal strike never landed. Ichigo's giant sword had most of its blade suddenly missing. Rika had to blink to make sure she had not missed anything. The red-haired man did not do anything. He was pinned down by the force of Ichigo's reiatsu and the wound to his leg tendon. What was left of Ichigo's sword looked too clean for it to have simply broke from wear and tear.

She quickly realized that it was the doing of the other Shinigami with a scarf around his neck. It was Rukia's brother if how she referred to him was true. Her guess was right on the mark. The cut off section of Ichigo's sword was in his hand. Ichigo realized the same thing after staring at his stump of a sword for some time. Just as he turned to face him, that same man was suddenly behind him. Ichigo suddenly jerked and slowly started to fall to the ground in defeat.

"Slow, even in defeat," he stated and Ichigo jerked a second time before completing his fall. Rika had to bite her lip hard in other not to cry out to her brother. It was also not to cry out in pain. Just as Urahara had warned, her phantom pain had become real. The pain was excruciating, as though something inside her was trying to tear her chest open in two. Her vision blurred badly as it quickly became too painful to bear. She blacked out just as Rukia kicked Ichigo's hand away from her brother's hakama.


	6. Protector And The Protected

**Author's Note: Nothing to say this time around except that I have freshened up the biography to look more complete. Enjoy the chapter.**

*****BIOGRAPHY UPDATED*****

*****Break Line*****

Ichigo thought he was dead from the lack of pain and opened his eyes, expecting to see some sort of afterlife. Instead, he saw Tessai's face very close to him. Screaming in shock, he scrambled to keep him away before kicking him off. Tessai called for Urahara, stating that Ichigo had awoken. Urahara entered the room, lightly reprimanding him for moving so much. If his wounds opened again, he would die.

"Sandal-hat? Are you the one who saved me?" Ichigo asked with a frown.

"Oh? That's not the response I was expecting," Urahara gave a surprised reply. "It almost sounds like you didn't want to be saved." Ichigo did not respond, staring at the wooden floor instead. The memories of the battle flashed before his eyes. He remembered Ishida being defeated nearby and asked if he was alright. Urahara told him that he was fine and had treated his wounds on the spot. Ishida had left some words for Ichigo before he left. He said that the only chance to defeat those two Shinigamis was not him. The only one who could save Rukia was Ichigo. He also gave his wishes for Rika to get well.

That caught Ichigo's attention more than the irony that he was the only one who could save Rukia. He asked where his sister was and Urahara pointed his paper fan behind him. He turned and saw his comatose sister laying in another futon next to his.

"What happened to Rika? Who did this to her?" he demanded, his protective side immediately coming to the surface.

"Do you really want to know, Kurosaki-san? You won't like the answer," Urahara cautioned.

"Just tell me who did this to her!"

"It was _you_, Kurosaki-san. Your reiryoku has been killing her slowly ever since you gained Shinigami powers." Ichigo was stunned by this. He was the one killing off his sister like an epidemic virus?

"Don't screw around with me! I didn't even do anything to her!" he denied furiously. "What do you mean my reiryoku is killing her?"

"Didn't Ishida-san tell you that your reiryoku has been polluting your sister? This is the result of that pollution. Your overflowing reiryoku caused her own to change, and that change is killing her."

Ichigo despaired over the fact that not only was Rukia going to be executed in Soul Society, his own sister was being killed by him. Urahara eased his worries by telling him that he knew how to save Rika and how to get to Soul Society. He had two conditions though. Ichigo was to train with him for ten days and Rika was coming along for the ride. He was stunned by the conditions and argued that he leave his sister out of this and that they did not know when Rukia was going to get executed. There was no time to train. Urahara interrupted him by knocking him down to the floor with his cane hovering a few inches away from his face.

"You just don't get it," his voice turned serious. "I'm trying to tell you that the way you are now, you'll die there." For a second, Ichigo thought he saw the image of a sword overlapping his cane. He gulped nervously as he turned his eyes to face Urahara. "Do you think you can win against them the way you are? This time, I let you fight them. I figured it would be faster than trying to tell you you can't win. With your current strength, you wouldn't be the least bit useful in Soul Society." He paused for a moment to let it all sink in. "You're weak. When a weakling enters enemy territory, they call that suicide. You wish to save Kuchiki-san? It will never be that simple. Don't use other people as an excuse to die."

Urahara stood up and walked back to his original position while explaining that Soul Society customarily takes a one month grace period before the execution of death row prisoners. Starting from tomorrow, ten days would be used to train both siblings. After that, seven days to open the gate to Soul Society. That left thirteen days in Soul Society to save Rukia. There was plenty of time. The image of Rukia walking to Soul Society flashed in Ichigo's mind one more time. He asked if ten days were really enough to get him stronger.

"Of course," Urahara replied. "If you truly desire to save Kuchiki-san from the bottom of your heart." He turned to face Ichigo with a confident smirk. "For ten days, can you survive a life-or-death situation with me?"

"You really have to ask?" Ichigo glared at him with strong determination in his eyes. "And what about Rika? Can you treat her?"

"Her treatment will begin at the same time your training begins. Go home for now, Kurosaki-san. Spend the day as you normally would. Return here once night falls tomorrow."

*****Break Line*****

Ichigo did as he was told, going to school the next day and acting like everything was normal. One thing stood out very clear to him though. No-one remembered Kuchiki Rukia at all. It was as if her existence was erased as soon as she returned to Soul Society.

On the way home, he was confronted by Inoue who asked him where Rukia had gone. A little surprised that she could remember, he told her what happened to her and when she was able to see ghosts. She told him it was right after the incident with her brother. She thanked him for helping her brother find the way to heaven.

Inoue mistook Rukia's departure as simply going home, which was true in a sense, but Ichigo corrected her by saying she was in a situation where she could get killed at any time. Inoue let her imagination run wild for a moment, but somehow it helped Ichigo harden his resolve to bring her back to Karakura Town. As he left to hurry home, Sado appeared by Inoue's side as they looked at him leave. They never noticed the black cat watching them.

As promised, Ichigo returned to the Urahara Shouten that night. He was brought to an area underneath the shop. Urahara dramatically shouted out his surprise at having such space underneath his store. Ichigo told him to shut it as he was surprised enough already. He told him to get on with the study session as he called it. Urahara complied with his wishes and slammed the butt of his cane into his forehead, knocking out the soul within the body and separating the two. Ichigo demanded why he did that without warning before falling to his knees due to shortness of breath.

"Hard to breathe as a soul, isn't it?" Urahara asked. "Right now, you are just a normal human soul with no reiryoku to speak of. Until you restore it, there's no way we can even begin."

"Then what do I have to do?" Ichigo asked.

"Rather than explain, how about we just get to it?" he then called for Ururu. "Hey! Are you ready?" Ururu had various protective gear being carried in her large skirt. "Lesson one: Please fight with Ururu. The rules are simple. When one or the other can no longer move, you've cleared the lesson. Please knock her out."

"Don't be ridiculous! You're telling me to hit such a little kid?" Ichigo protested. "Besides, didn't you say you'll treat Rika at the same time as I start?" Rika's unconscious form was being carried by Tessai like a potato sack. Feigning ignorance, Urahara had the gall to look surprised and claimed he had forgotten. Tessai held her upright and he pushed out her soul just as he did for Ichigo. Rika's soul fell haplessly to the ground. It took a while for her soul form to stir awake.

"What happened...?" she asked groggily. When her vision focused, she saw all the people of the Urahara Shop along with Ichigo who had a Chain of Fate attached to him. She realized he was a normal soul instead of a Shinigami. The sound of a chain rattling when she stood up alerted her to her own Chain of Fate. "I'm a soul?"

"That is correct. In order to save your life, I have to eject your soul, first and foremost," Urahara explained. "That is still not enough as your soul is still linked to your body." Rika noticed that her Chain of Fate was attached to her now soul-less body, similarly with Ichigo. "Your reiatsu can now safely convert itself but unless you turn into a Shinigami to complete the conversion, you can never safely return to your own body again. Your body will attempt to reach for your human reiatsu and the stress it has to go through to bypass all of the Shinigami reiatsu will destroy your soul and leave you dead."

"Now hold on right there!" Ichigo raised his voice to get their attention. "You're telling me that Rika has to be a Shinigami or else she dies? What kind of crap is that?"

"What?" Rika was taken aback by her brother's ignorance. "Are you trying to say that you would leave my own body in a coma and I have to wonder around as a soul simply to avoid dying?"

"That's not what I meant!" he snapped. "I just don't want you to be a Shinigami!"

"But she has to be," Urahara added himself into their short argument. "Or else things will go exactly as she said."

"Can't you just put her in a gigai like the one Rukia used?" Ichigo fished around for an alternative. He really did not want to expose his sister to the danger he had to go through. If she became one, Hollows would start going after her.

"I can't. I would have to sever the attachment to her body in order to do so," the shop owner shook his head. "And even then it would not stop her soul's detoriation into a Hollow. In that case, the only alternative would be to do Konso and send her to Soul Society unless you want her to be a Hollow. Either way, she will be dead."

"So there's no other choice...?" Ichigo glared at Urahara, trying to see if he was lying to him. There was no hint of deceit on his face as he stared back at him unflinchingly. "Fine! But she's not coming with me to Soul Society!"

"...Kurosaki-san, your sister coming along with you was one of the conditions I set. You have agreed, and it would be really bad manners for you to take back your word," Urahara's gaze hardened with a warning look in his eyes. "Even if she didn't come along, she will be eventually detected by Soul Society and hunted down and killed as an illegal Shinigami. Just like you. And if you try to hide it, your entire family might be marked as a target as well. It is fortunate that they did not find out about your sister when they came after Kuchiki-san and you."

Rika realized that Rukia had been retrieved by the two Shinigami that had appeared yesterday. Urahara had said Ichigo was an illegal Shinigami, so that meant giving a human Shinigami powers was a felony in Soul Society. If Ichigo was going to Soul Society, it was most likely to save her. If it was simply prison time, he would not have bothered. The only other plausible scenario was that she was a criminal marked for death.

"You are going to rescue Kuchiki-san, aren't you nii-san?" she asked her brother in a soft voice. "How are you going to do it?" Urahara answered for Ichigo, explaining about the training they were about to undergo. Rika quickly understood the importance of the training session unlike Ichigo, who grunted in annoyance when teased about it by Urahara.

"I still don't like it," Ichigo snorted. "I don't want her to be in danger."

"And you aren't?" Rika spoke up with heat in her voice. Her brother's protective streak would occasionally go too far, and now was one of them. "If you don't get past the danger safely, what makes you think you can even save her? You think you can save her if you ignore the danger to your own life? I can understand risking your life but the way you're disregarding your own safety is too much, nii-san!"

"No, I'm not!" he snapped.

"Yes, you are!" she snapped back. "I can tell you want to do this alone without involving anyone else! You aren't invincible! You were just defeated yesterday!" Ichigo just glared at her angrily without retorting because it was true. "What is so wrong with getting help? Why do you think it's wrong when you are the one protected, not the one doing the protecting?"

"You know why! You were there when it happened!" he yelled.

"At least I'm not against being protected! I'm grateful for all the times I have been protected, but I also want to protect our family too! That means you as well! Didn't you say that older siblings are born first so they can protect the ones that come after them? Did you forget that I'm an older sibling to Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan too? Whenever they get worried about you, they come to me to get answers! If you die on this rescue mission, they are going to ask me what happened to you! What am I supposed to tell them? That you died because of your recklessness? Do you honestly think they will accept that? Or do you want me to make up a lie about how you died and make you sound like some kind of superhero? Do you want to make me suffer from carrying the guilt of knowing the truth about your death? If you die, how am I supposed to tell them that? How am I supposed to tell them that they lost their older brother? If I don't protect you from your own recklessness, how am I supposed to tell them I'm sorry that I let you die? Tell me!"

Ichigo was lost for words. Rika's words cut him deep. In his drive to rescue Rukia, he failed to realize what would happen if he failed. No, scratch that. 'If he died' was the correct phrase. He could very well succeed in rescuing her but end up dying in the process. The family would go through the same depression they had with their mother's death.

Ever since Masaki's death, Rika had tried her absolute best to fill in her shoes. She was considered the new center of the family, at least for the twins. They found little to no comfort in their father, and their brother was just not suitable to really share their troubles with. Yuzu always came to her whenever a problem arised for her, and Karin would only do so if the problem was something she could not handle alone. However, Rika could not have done it on her own. She needed Ichigo by her side. If he died, she might crumble from the loss of his presence.

"What if you die instead? Have you thought about that?" Ichigo countered, his anger having simmered once he paused to think about her words.

"I don't think you'll let it happen," Rika answered with all honesty, giving him a small smile.

"That's true," he agreed as he grinned confidently. "I'm counting on you to watch my back for me, Rika."

"I'll try my best, nii-san," she swore. "Leave your back to me. I will aid you to the end."

"It appears you two have settled your differences," Urahara finally spoke after quietly watching the two bicker. "Shall we begin the lesson?" They both nodded with their own brand of determination. The older sibling held the determination to rescue and protect an important person in his life, while the younger sibling held the determination to aid her brother at all costs and to deter him from heading towards his own destruction.

At the same time, an unseen individual was seeing and hearing everything that had been happening.

"It looks like we'll be meeting _real_ soon, Kurosaki Rika..." the individual spoke before laughing with a mischievous tone.


	7. Trials Of The Shattered Shaft

**Author's Note: We are now entering the Soul Society Arc. This was previously written in two chapters, but I fused them together as I felt no need to split them up. I have also done a few minor changes here and there. Do enjoy this chapter until I'm done rewriting future (and new!) parts in this rewrite.**

Lesson one was now underway. Ichigo was to fight with Ururu until one of them could no longer move. Ururu tossed some of the protective gear over to him and advised him to put them on or he could die. Any protest he had quickly died on his lips when he saw her rushing towards him at great speed and throwing a punch, knocking up a huge cloud of dust when her fist impacted against the ground.

"Hey, that's way too much! There's no way he'll be able to fight against her as a human soul!" Rika protested in extreme worry.

"That's part of the point of this lesson," Urahara replied. "He's not supposed to win. In fact, he can't." When the dust cloud cleared a little, only Ururu could be seen standing. A few seconds later, Ichigo came tumbling out like a hapless rag doll.

"Just how long was nii-san in there...?" Rika asked with a sweatdrop forming at the back of her head. It was just not possible for him to evade a punch like that and not get blown away by the force of the impact. It had to be some sort of ridiculous miracle he was still within the general area and somehow tumbling.

"Who knows?" Jinta shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly. "Oh, he's getting up! He's going right for her! No wait, he just ran right past her!" he provided commentary like it was a boxing match.

Seeing Ichigo run made Rika pause and think. Wasn't he struggling to even breathe, let alone stand, just a few moments ago? How was he able to suddenly run without any trouble breathing? She had no problems of any sort when she first realized she was in soul form. So why was it Ichigo only? Seeing him as a human soul instead of a Shinigami clued her in to the fact he had lost his Shinigami powers. There was no way it had simply faded away, not with him leaking reiryoku all the time. That meant he had lost them in the fight. She suddenly realized she could no longer sense his reiryoku. She focused on him but she still could not sense it.

"Urahara-san, did something happen to nii-san during his fight?" she asked him with a frown. "I can't sense him anymore."

"That's no surprise, since he lost his reiryoku in that battle," he replied. Rika just gave him a confused look but he did not say any more. Ichigo lost his reiryoku? From conversations with Urahara, she had learned that reiryoku was one of the sources needed to be a Shinigami. Was his difficulty in breathing in soul form due to the lack of reiryoku? Rika was pretty sure his soul had not been tampered with until Rukia came along. This training was to get him to regain his Shinigami-

Oh. Now she understood why she was told she did not need lesson one.

Urahara smirked behind his paper fan when he saw the look of comprehension dawning on her face. She had figured out the true point of lesson one. It was for him to regain the reiryoku he had lost. He told her not to reveal the answer to Ichigo. She nodded in agreement, knowing that it was useless to know the answer if the point was not understood.

"Hey, how do I put this on?" Ichigo yelled while running away from Ururu.

"Kurosaki-san! The forehead! The forehead!" Urahara motioned wrapping something around his forehead as Ichigo called for his attention.

"Like this?" Ichigo had gained enough distance to pause and attempt to imitate him.

"Then you scream at the top of your lungs: 'Take this, Power of Righteousness! The Righteous Armor, Justice Headband! Equip!'" he added.

"Okay, I got it. Alright then..." Ichigo prepared himself to say it before throwing the headband down in frustration. "Like hell I could say that!" Before he could complain any further, a diving punch from Ururu made him pick it up and run again.

"I don't think now's the time for embarrassment," Urahara commented offhandedly.

"I know that chant meant nothing!" Rika accused. "Nii-san would never-" she tried to defend her brother's pride when she was interrupted by Ichigo himself. While he did not do it with the dramatic flair Urahara used, he was still screaming the downright ridiculous chant. Rika's jaw nearly dropped off its hinges when she heard him actually say it.

"Oh my, he actually said it..." Urahara was hiding his full-blown grin behind his fan.

"I don't know him... I don't know him..." Rika was uttering the phrase repeatedly like a mantra to deny any relationship between Ichigo and her, not that it helped any. She had tried to defend his pride only for him to utter that stupid chant and make a fool of himself and her by extension. She was feeling very embarrassed to be his sister at that moment.

Ichigo eventually gained enough distance to wear his protective gear, but it ended up doing nothing other than provide simple cosmetics. After a little more running, he suddenly turned around to face Ururu head-on. He stood his ground and successfully dodged a punch to the face. He started counter-attacking, throwing his own punches at her. One of his punches must have had grazed Ururu, because she suddenly stood on his outstretched arm and delivered a kick that sent him flying towards a huge hill. At that instant, Urahara held back most of the kick's power while Tessai took the brunt of the crash, holding Ichigo in front of him. Even then, there was still enough power to cause a crater to appear where they crashed.

Ichigo requested a retry, but Urahara passed him anyway. When he asked why, Urahara told him that he never mentioned he would clear only by knocking out Ururu. He revealed that the girl had anti-Shinigami fighting abilities, and that a human soul would never defeat her no matter how hard it struggled. The turning point was whether he could dodge a blow or not. If he dodged, he passed. If not, he died. Both siblings snapped at him, one angry and the other horrified, telling him to say that earlier. His defense was that he believed Ichigo would definitely be able to dodge.

He then asked if it was still hard to breathe. Ichigo had not realized he could breathe normally again. That meant he had successfully restored his lost reiryoku. Urahara also explained why Rika never needed lesson one since her reiryoku had never been lost in the first place. He proposed a celebration for his passing. As they waited to hear what it was, Tessai slammed an axe on Ichigo's Chain of Fate without warning, severing it from his body. Jinta did the same to Rika using his metal bat.

"Wha-?" both siblings gasped as two huge holes opened up underneath their feet. They screamed loudly and for a long time before they stopped. Urahara commented on how deep they were, and Ururu gave a salute claiming she did her best. Tessai jumped in to Ichigo's side while Urahara went to Rika. Once there, they explained about lesson two. It was named Shattered Shaft. In it, the erosion of their Chain of Fate would take place in a period of 72 hours or three full days. They had to become Shinigamis and get out of there within the time period, or else they would turn into Hollows and they would be exterminated. The most terrifying three days of the Kurosaki siblings had just begun.

*****Break Line*****

Hours had passed, and Rika was lying on the ground face-first. Each time those worms ate away at her Chain of Fate, she was sent cringing to the ground in absolute pain with tears pricking at the edges of her eyes. She knew she could not physically climb up the hole, not with her arms bound behind her back. Urahara had warned her that if she started to feel hungry, that meant bad things were going to happen to her. She did not feel hungry, at least not yet.

"It's been almost 70 hours now, Kurosaki-san," Urahara updated her. From the look of surprise on her face, it appeared she did not think so. "Perception of time is a little off in the Shattered Shaft. The final encroachment will begin in about five more sessions. As a warning, it will be nothing like what you've been through so far."

"And then I'll turn into a Hollow?" Rika stated the obvious.

"If you do, I'm afraid I'll have to kill you," he told her with no signs of joking. Simply put, it was a do-or-die thing to turn from a Plus to a Shinigami. She forced herself to calm down and began to think things out. Hopefully, those detested worms would not appear and interrupt her thought process with sheer blinding pain.

From what she had learned so far, Pluses, Shinigamis and Hollows were all spiritual beings. So that meant she had to do something in her current state. Something to do with her soul. But what? That was the missing link. She had only recently found out that Pluses became Hollows when their Chain of Fate eroded all the way. So what about when Pluses became Shinigami? Surely it was not by this method! Rukia had even said something about a school for aspiring Shinigami, so there had to be a proper way to do it.

"Urahara-san! How does someone in Rukongai become a Shinigami?" she asked as she brought herself up to a sitting position. Urahara's eyes twinkled, seeing how desperate she was for information about Shinigami. He re-explained how souls with sufficient reiryoku would be inducted into the Shinigami Academy to learn how to control it. No, that was not the information she was looking for. She already knew all that! In fact, she did not even know what she was looking for. She was reaching out in the dark, hoping to find something that could help her. "What does the Academy teach?" she asked another question and Urahara supplied the information. In the end, none of the answers helped her at all. What did Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohou and Kidou have anything to do with her situation right now?

...Wait! Zanjutsu! There was a hint there! She clearly remembered Renji's sword. Zanpakutou, was what he called it. He had taunted Ichigo about how he could not even ask his own sword its name. The sword seemed to hold a lot of significance in regards to the Shinigami. Before she could ask, encroachment began once again. She collapsed to the ground in agony and bit her lip to prevent herself from screaming out.

"What... is a Zanpakutou... to a Shinigami...?" she wheezed out when the pain subsided.

"A Zanpakutou is the reflection of a Shinigami's soul and power," Urahara answered. There! That was the missing link she was looking for! She did not know why, but somehow she knew that was it! It jogged her memory of the fact that the very first time Ichigo became a Shinigami, he was already wielding a Zanpakutou. Now she needed to call out her own Zanpakutou in order to avoid turning into a Hollow.

"How do you ask a Zanpakutou its name?" she asked. That was the key question. Urahara smiled almost proudly at her and told her about Jinzen. Unfortunately, she did not have the time to meditate. She was probably only a few more steps away from having her Chain of Fate totally eroded. She tried going for a gamble. Perhaps if she was unconscious, her soul might recognize the fact that she was in an extremely vulnerable state and did whatever it took to try and keep her alive. Hopefully, the soul would connect with her inner world and send her consciousness to it. "Urahara-san, please knock me out!"

"As you wish, Kurosaki-san..." he placed a palm in front of her face. Purple cherry blossoms magically appeared around her and fell to the ground slowly. As she watched them, her vision turned blurry and unfocused. She felt very disoriented and confused and the next thing she knew, everything went black.

*****Break Line*****

"...up! Wake up!"

Rika stirred awake to a voice that seemed to call for her. Creaking her eyelids open, they snapped wide open as she took in her now unfamiliar surroundings. She was no longer at the bottom of the Shattered Shaft. She now found herself in an endless snow plain as far as she could see with a wooden cottage somewhere off to the side. Away in the far distance was a heavily snow-coated forest. As if to make itself known, there was a super-imposed view of the full moon in the starry night sky.

"This is...?" she asked no-one in particular, totally forgetting about the voice that woke her up.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" someone demanded angrily. Startled, Rika turned around to see a young girl, looking about eleven years of age, glaring at her with her cheeks puffed angrily. She could certainly be passed off as an albino with her pale complexion and light grey hair. Her hair reached the middle of her back and she had a large piece of white fabric tied into the shape of a bow at the back of her head. Her eyes were red, and in place of pupils there were slits. Her ears also seemed slightly more pointed than a regular human's. Her clothes were mostly white with a small amount of grey here and there. (For a more detailed description, read the Biography.)

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she quickly apologized to her. "Do you live in that cottage, little girl?" That only irked the girl even more.

"I'm not a little girl! I'm a Zanpakutou!" she exclaimed angrily and blatantly ignored her question. Rika only stared at her until her exclamation struck home. She then remembered requesting Urahara to knock her out in a desperate attempt to find her Zanpakutou hidden in her soul. Apparently, this little girl was it.

"Um, are you-?"

"Yes, I am your Zanpakutou," the girl interrupted quickly. "My name is *********. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kurosaki Rika," she performed a graceful curtsy.

"Um, I didn't get your name... Can you repeat yourself?" Rika had the grace to look embarrassed and sheepish at having missed a clear introduction when the trees in the forest ruffled their leaves. The spirit looked dismayed but did as requested. Again, the trees ruffled their leaves. She did not know why but noticed that for some reason, the trees in the forest ruffled their leaves _extremely _loud when she tried to hear the spirit's name, blocking out her hearing.

"I do not blame you for not hearing my name. Neither is the forest to blame. We have only just met, after all," she sighed in resignation.

"Where is this place?" Rika asked, looking around in wonder.

"This is your inner world, Rika. I live here," the spirit replied. "I rather like this winter wonderland. You have good taste."

"Um... Thank you...?" Rika was unsure how to respond to that praise. She had no hand in the creation of her inner world, or at least she believed so. She quickly remembered what she was here for but before she could ask, the spirit answered.

"If you wish to manifest me, you should find your Shinigami powers somewhere in this world," she told Rika. "You should hurry, before you turn into a Hollow and I disappear."

Ishida's demonstration of his ability to manifest Spirit Threads came to the front of her mind. It was the only clue she had for helping her locate her Shinigami powers. Having materialized them once before, she knew what the sensation felt like. White ribbons soon appeared all around her, attached to various objects near and far in her inner world, but there was no red one.

_'Wh-What...? Where is it?' _she panicked mentally. As a result, she lost focus and the ribbons disappeared from her sight.

"Are you having trouble finding it?" the spirit asked, having gotten on all fours and doodling in the snow with her finger. "I already told you your powers are somewhere here." Steeling her resolve and not wanting to turn into a Hollow, she called upon the Spirit Threads once more. Again, there was no red one.

"Where is it...?" she looked around desperately, verging on the brink of panic. The spirit ignored her as she continued entertaining herself. There were too many threads for her to follow each one individually to see if anything was amiss. She nearly broke down in tears at her apparent failure. She turned her eyes to the spirit in despair, and noticed there was no thread coming from her. It was not possible, unless she was hiding it from her. The spirit noticed her gaze and turned her eyes upwards.

"Yes?" she asked, getting back to her feet.

"If you are holding them, can I have my Shinigami powers please?" Rika pleaded almost in desperation. She held her breath, hoping that the spirit was simply hiding her powers and preventing them from being sensed. The spirit smiled and a sheathed Zanpakutou materialized in her open hands. Rika let out a huge sigh of relief that her guess was right. She was only waiting for her to ask for them.

"Here you go," she held out the katana that represented her Shinigami powers.

"Thank you, little girl," she accepted the sword gratefully. When she took it, the world started to fade from her sight. The last thing she saw before total darkness was the spirit's indignant face.

"I'm not a little girl! I'm a Zanpakutou!" she screamed childishly even as her voice disappeared. The next thing she knew, she was suddenly out of the hole and standing in front of Urahara, Jinta and Ururu. She looked down and saw herself clad in the clothes that all the Shinigamis had. Attached to her hip was the Zanpakutou that the spirit had given her. Rika had little knowledge of katanas and could only guess that it looked fairly standard. The only thing unique was the guard that vaguely resembled the shape of a cat's face. She fondly took it into her hands and hugged it.

"'Not a little girl, but a Zanpakutou', huh?" she whispered before putting it back to her hip.

"Congratulations, Kurosaki-san! You have managed to obtain your Shinigami just before the final encroachment!" Urahara praised. Then at the fall of a hat, his jovial smile turned serious. "Now we wait for your brother. If he fails, we will have to kill him. If that happens, you will most likely be the first thing he goes after."

The time spent waiting for him to appear was crawling even slower than a snail. The minutes seemingly turned themselves into hours. That was how Rika felt as she waited anxiously for Ichigo's success. Suddenly, a blast of reiatsu could be felt coming from the hole he was in. It was so powerful a miniature earthquake occured in the basement. A peek into it revealed him to be screaming in absolute pain as white liquid poured out of his eyes and mouth. The liquid gathered around the left side of his face and slowly formed the shape of a mask before moving to the right bit by bit.

"Nii-san!" Rika tried to go over to him but was held back by Urahara before she jumped into the hole. He explained that although he was turning into a Hollow, he was totally out of sequence. Since the mask was forming first, he still had a chance to become a Shinigami. Rika forced herself to stay put while her brother's screams of torture rang throughout the air. She almost tore her eyes away from him as the mask nearly enveloped his entire face. Tessai decided not to take chances and finished his binding spell to kill him. She pleaded for him to stop but he could not hold him down any longer. A rectangular metal object appeared in mid-air and dropped into the hole, igniting a huge explosion.

"NII-SAN!" Rika screamed in despair as Urahara threw her and the two children to the ground and covered them protectively. Jinta pointed out a flaming object that escaped from the explosion. All eyes focused on it as it shot around randomly in the air before crashing violently into the ground. When the dust cleared, Ichigo was standing there in Shinigami clothing... along with a Hollow's mask.

"Nii-...san...?" Rika called out cautiously. Just like the two children, she was not sure whether the mask was just that: a mask. Or, her brother had indeed turned into a Hollow and was only using a Shinigami's form. When he unsheathed the massive sword on his back, the children took defensive stances. He stared at the stump of a sword, before smashing the hilt into his face and breaking the mask to pieces. Slowly, he moved the undamaged portion of the upper mask to the side of his head, revealing himself as a Shinigami.

"Nii-san!" Rika ran up and hugged her brother tightly, clenching the back of his kimono tightly and crying silently into his shoulder. "Idiot... You big idiot... You unbelievable idiot... You unforgivable idiot...!" she weeped, her voice muffled by the cloth but he heard her clearly.

"Congratulations! You have returned to being a Shinigami right on time!" Urahara announced far too happily, opening his paper fan. "Splendid! Lesson two clear!"

"Shut your trap!" Ichigo growled, gently pulling his sister away and smashing the hilt of his broken sword into Urahara's chin. "I swore that if I got out of that hole alive, I'll kill you!"

"Well, that's perfect," Urahara's voice dropped to a slightly serious tone. "Let's use that energy and go straight to lesson three. Imouto-san, I suggest you calm yourself. I will give you lesson three later."

"No, I'm fine. Can we do this all at once?" she requested, wiping her remaining tears away.

"If you insist," he shrugged. "Lesson three has no time limit. Both of you have to knock off my hat once with your Zanpakutou and it's clear." In response, Ichigo crouched in front of Urahara and swung his broken sword upwards, causing a blue flash of light to shoot up. It did not blow off his hat, but it did cause a small cut. "Impressive," Urahara praised as Ichigo leapt back to his original position. "Such an attack with a broken Zanpakutou..."

"Of course! If I get serious, I've got plenty more where that came from!" Ichigo bragged, causing Rika to shake her head in mild bemusement. "Forget that 'no time limit' crap! Let's settle this in five minutes!"

"Alright... In five minutes, let's settle this," Urahara drew a katana from his cane. Alarms rang in Rika's head as she knew that sword was a Zanpakutou. It could not be anything else. She drew her own Zanpakutou and held it in a weird position, this being her first time wielding a sword. Ichigo, on the other hand, was being pursued by Urahara and throwing taunts at him. When he grew quiet and slowed his pace down to a stop, she knew he thought otherwise.

"No, nii-san! Don't-" It was too late. Urahara swung his sword and knocked off the remaining pieces of the Hollow mask that still hung on the side of his head.

"You let your guard down," Urahara simply stated. "'This belongs to a guy who's not a Shinigami so it can't be a Zanpakutou. So it doesn't matter if he cuts me,' eh?" He sounded really condescending just then. "You're totally naive. Your sister already figured it out the moment I drew my sword. **Awaken, Benihime.**" Before their eyes, the sword changed shape. It shortened in length somewhat, and the tip changed to a slanted edge. "She's 100% genuine Zanpakutou, this girl."

Brief scenes involving Zanpakutous in his disastrous fight with the two Shinigamis flashed before Ichigo's eyes as he finally managed to grasp its importance. Urahara explained that each Zanpakutou had their own name, and Benihime was his Zanpakutou's name. With just one swing, it destroyed a big hill compared to the rock he sliced off earlier. They could clearly see the difference in power even if they could not feel it.

Rika watched helplessly as Urahara taunted her brother by cutting up his sword like paper until it was down to the hilt. He threatened to kill him if he chose to engage him with only that. At that point, she refused to be pinned down by her own insecurities and charged at him from behind. He smoothly performed a counter-swing which not only stopped her own attack, but cracked her sword as well.

"It seems you have better control of your spiritual energy than your brother. But still not quite enough to completely defend against Benihime," he noted. With a simple shove, he overpowered her and sent her tumbling gracelessly on the ground. He resumed pursuit of Ichigo while Rika struggled to her feet. After catching her breath and giving chase, she halted to a stop when she noticed Ichigo had a different weapon in his hand. It was like a giant cleaver, and did not resemble a sword at all. When he raised his arm into the air, she sensed his reiatsu spike steeply.

_"Get out of the way, you stupid girl!" _a voice screamed in her mind. Deciding not to think about it, she dived to her left just as something roared by her. When it stopped, she peeked behind her and saw everything in its path slashed cleanly in two, including the ground. It gave the image of a canyon in a desert wasteland.

"Kurosaki-san has passed lesson three," she heard Urahara say. She turned her head upwards and saw his figure standing imposingly above her. His hat had a huge clean cut and a few traces of dirt on it, showing that Ichigo had indeed knocked it off. "Now it's your turn to knock off my hat, imouto-san." With no warning, he tried to stab Benihime into her skull. She quickly rolled away into a kneeling position and held out her cracked sword in a meager attempt to defend herself. "Learn how to wield your Zanpakutou fast, or else you'll die," he told her in a no-nonsense tone.

Rika froze on the spot in sheer terror. This was her first time wielding a sword and she was expected to somehow hold her own against someone who was likely a master swordsman? It was an impossible demand, and she knew it. But her brother did it, right? Then again, he already had some experience.

No, she was only making excuses for herself! She realized that ultimately, it was a fight for her own survival. Showing weakness did not help one survive. That realization gave birth to desperation. With the adrenaline running through her veins, she ducked under a swing and lashed out with one of her own. It only resulted in a 'clang' as steel met steel. She felt him trying to shove her off balance again, so she quickly jumped backwards to make some breathing room for herself.

"I won't die here... I can't die here..." she was beginning to hyperventilate. "I won't... I can't..."

_"Oh, be quiet already! Stop being so pessimistic!" _the same voice sounded in her mind again. Before Rika's very eyes, her vision warped and she suddenly found herself in her inner world. She realized the voice belonged to her Zanpakutou spirit. She looked extremely pissed, and was definitely angry at her. "Are you really that helpless? What happened to your desire to keep your brother safe from his own undoing? What happened to not wanting to tell your family that your brother happened to just die?"

The terror she felt when facing off with Urahara combined with the threat of death came back to hit her full force. Adding that to the knowledge at how utterly useless she turned out to be was too much to bear. The only thing she had accomplished was just talk. When it came to action, she could not do a single thing.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry...!" Rika broke down, the tears flowing unbidden. "I was just so worried about nii-san... I just... I just..."

"You want to protect your brother. You don't want him to shoulder all the burden by himself. You want to protect your family just as much as he does," the spirit filled up the blanks Rika left behind in her sobbing. She was caught off guard when she was suddenly hugged tightly by her wielder who got on her knees to match her height.

"Please help me... I can't do this on my own..." she pleaded to the spirit. The spirit quickly forgot her anger and patted her wielder's head soothingly.

"Very well, Master. I will aid you to the best of my ability. Don't cry. I will always be with you," she told her gently, making them lock gazes with each other. There was a glint of mischievious innocence in her eyes as she helped Rika stand. "Dry your tears and let's play, Kurosaki Rika! Play with-"

Meanwhile, Urahara watched as Rika froze like a statue, staring ahead with blank, unfocused eyes. He recognized those blank eyes as those belonging to a person who was in their inner world. She was probably conversing with her Zanpakutou right now. He grinned quietly to himself. It was the same situation with Ichigo. Her eyes suddenly regained life as she swung her sword with a grace that was lost to her just moments ago.

**"Yukianesa!"** she suddenly yelled out a name. He watched carefully as her Zanpakutou morphed itself. The blade changed from the customary silver to a pure white. The guard changed from brown to grey and the hilt turned white with two grey diamonds on both sides. At the base of the hilt were two white felted balls connected by a white string which jingled, revealing them to be bells.

Rika jumped backwards into the air, gathering a sizable amount of reiatsu into her Zanpakutou. Slashing diagonally downwards, spikes of ice rained down at him. He got out of the attack's range, only to be surprised when each spike exploded into a crystal-shaped icicle upon contact with the ground. He quickly analyzed it to be a multi-purpose attack. The raining spikes were likely meant to impale the enemy and on contact, explode into ice crystals, trapping the enemy in place if not impaling them three times over. In case of a miss, the crystals would end up as a wall of ice, providing protection.

His hat did not get knocked off and Rika was knocked out cold behind her wall of ice. Ichigo on the other hand, had simply fallen asleep while leaning on his Zanpakutou. The sister had failed lesson three, but knocking his hat off was simply a distraction. The true goal was to unlock their Shikai and both of them passed. Truly, the Kurosaki siblings were exceptionally talented as Shinigami.


End file.
